Big Changes Coming to Chili’s Restaurants — Here’s What We Know

Money is tighter than ever for American families, so they’ve been dining out less and less in the last several years.

But that hasn’t stopped Chili’s from being one of only a few chain restaurants that are thriving — big time.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Brinker International Inc. — which owns Chili’s — reported a whopping 31.4 percent increase in same-store sales for the quarter ending December 25, 2024.

With such an unprecedented leap of profit, they are going to do what few chains get to do: Update and upgrade all of their locations!

Instead of pocketing the profits, Chili’s will put money right right back into the business by buying upgraded kitchen equipment that will not only make their food taste better, but also make it ready to serve faster.

CEO of Brinker International, Kevin Hochman, says, “We have decided to accelerate the conversion of the balance of our restaurants to Turbo Chefs, which are ovens that use a combination of modern cooking methods to rapidly accelerate cooking vs. conventional ovens today.”

As if that wasn’t enough, not only will Chili’s be taking even better care of its patrons, but it will also seek to make the work environment even better for its employees.

Those new ovens don’t just cook the food faster and better, they put off less heat, making the kitchen more comfortable for team members.

With such a large increase in same-store profits, and the re-investing of those profits into the business model, this is only going to add more pressure to Chili’s competitors like Applebee’s.