If you want your babyback-babyback-babyback, we have some great news for you. Not only has Chili’s survived the economic insanity of the post-COVID economy, but the 2000s-hot (and 2010s-waning) casual restaurant chain has recently executed a turnaround that some industry analysts have deemed the “best of all time”... and that was before Chili’s recently hit 6 straight quarters of record sales in an economy where competitors are struggling to stay relevant. In fact, 2024 saw the most bankruptcies in the sit-down restaurant sector since the pandemic, including historical staples like TGI Friday’s, Hooters, and Red Lobster. So what exactly is going on here? How has Chili’s created and planned for the kind of demand (and revenue) that most restaurateurs can only dream of? Let’s have a look at one of the greatest success stories in retail and restaurant revamps in recent recollection.

Why was Chili’s losing market share in the 2010s?

Chili’s CEO Kevin Hochman, who took the reins in 2022, told the Wall Street Journal, “A lot of players in casual dining—and Chili’s was one of them—forgot about why people go out, and if we don’t deliver on that, why would we expect our business to grow?”

In the post-2008 recession economy, many people in Chili’s core demographic were forced to tighten their financial belts and re-evaluate their dining-out choices, amid a lot of new fast-casual competition. Chili’s also was suffering from a loss of brand identity, a bloated, overly complex menu (including more than 20 sections) that strayed from the restaurant’s traditional Tex-Mex-and-burgers fare, and a slow adaptation to shifting consumer preferences towards faster, fresher, and more unique casual dining options. Customers at the time complained that the service was often inattentive (potentially due to reduced staff), the food quality had declined, and Chili’s overhyped discount “limited-time” deal menu items were confusing and unsatisfying.

As a result of these factors, by the mid-2010s, growth slowed precipitously, with the company actually showing negative growth during 2016. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic of 2020 produced more negative numbers for Chili’s, which reached a record low of -4.33% growth. It was clear that the company had to do something to get their babyback-babyback back.

What did Chili’s do to spark such a huge financial turnaround?

As CEO Hochman explained to CNBC, Chili’s “started with the fundamentals of casual dining. Now that sounds easy… but the reality is it’s really, really difficult to execute.” Hochman and his team worked to improve efficiencies (and therefore customer experiences), finding every way they could to save time and create better processes in the kitchen. Less time wasted means hotter food, better quality food, and happier customers. Everything was examined, including things as seemingly innocuous as how the fries were being seasoned: Customers had been complaining that the fries were arriving less-than-hot and undersalted. The previous process specified spreading the fries out on a tray and shaking the seasoning container 30 times, which Hochman (and many cooks) found ridiculous, resulting in under-seasoned fries. (The groundbreaking change? Put bigger holes in the salt shaker and season fresh-cooked fries tossed in a bowl.) Every kitchen fixture, process, and piece of equipment was stringently evaluated, improved, and either streamlined or eliminated.

Another example of an improvement Hochman elaborated to the WSJ came from the culinary team, who discovered that swapping the type and packaging of the pickles they used for their most popular burger (the Oldtimer with cheese) resulted in over a half-million dollars annual savings, greatly increased efficiency and cleanliness in the kitchen, and nobody among the executive team could tell the difference in flavor. Hochman also ran frequent sit-down meetings with on-site managers and insisted that they share with him their biggest gripes and suggestions for improvement. He’d ask them, “If you were the CEO, what would you change tomorrow?” and says he got a lot of good ideas this way.

The company abandoned gimmicky limited-time offerings and took serious strides to improve the customer’s experience from start to finish. As a part of these efforts, Chili’s dramatically cut down the number of menu items, trimming 25% of the previous menu. “Sometimes people say they love variety, and they do, but sometimes variety can get in the way of making something consistently really really well,” says Hochman. Customers agreed, and TikTok/viral video reviews of Chili’s crispier chicken tenders, ultra-hot-and-stretchy mozzarella sticks, and other offerings helped sell the restaurant’s menu to an entirely new generation of customers: Gen Z.

Chili’s new inflation-friendly value deals and improved menu options

But this has all been buoyed by the Chili’s doubling down on the value for money concept, as exemplified by their “3 For Me for $10.99” deal, launched in 2022. As related by The Takeout, the 3 For Me was “a casual dining take on fast food combo meals that included a burger or chicken sandwich, fries, an appetizer (bottomless chips and salsa, soup, or a salad), and a soft drink with free refills, for $10.99. The 3 For Me brought in so much business to Chili’s during its lunch hours that it allowed the company to compete with fast food chains. And when rampant inflation led to higher cost drive-through combo meals, Chili pointedly promoted the 3 For Me anew in the spring of 2024 as an alternative to fast food, reworking the deal slightly to include a revamped Crispy Chicken Sandwich or a brand new Big Smasher cheeseburger as the entree, and endless chips and salsa as the only appetizer. It all still cost $10.99 for more food for roughly the same price as eating a burger, fries, and soda in your car at lunchtime.”

In an economy where inflation fatigue had potential customers searching for ways to save money while still feeling like they were getting a quality experience, Chili’s became a standout. Rather than driving the entire menu into the “budget” category and losing the higher-end casual feel of the experience, however, Chili’s makes sure to balance the bargain items with the higher-end ones. Hochman maintains that this “barbell strategy” is a cornerstone of the company’s increasing profitability. In this model, the restaurant offers both an affordable option of several core items for customers who are tired of paying crazy-high prices for even fast food, as well as long-standing “premium” items for the customers who can afford it and want to splurge. The volume keeps the affordable items still profitable, and the premium items take up the slack and help ensure the restaurant retains a higher-end feel while earning consistent revenue.

And Chili’s is definitely not buying into the “healthier options” trend adopted by some competitors. An August 2025 NPR story says, “One thing Chili’s is not blazing the trail on - healthy options. Frying is king. There’s very few low-cal offerings on the menu. How are they squaring that with a moment when it seems like everybody and their brother are taking a Ozempic?” Answer? “They’re not squaring it at all. It should not be a surprise that… the viral moment that has helped kick off this Chili’s revival had to do not with… poached chicken breasts or something but had to do with their mozzarella planks and these incredible TikTok videos of young people biting into a mozzarella plank and then doing a cheese pull, stretching the cheese… the length of your arm. Clearly not a menu item designed around healthiness. Instead, it’s a menu item designed around indulgence, almost decadence.”

The revamping and refreshing of the menu’s Triple Dipper (a perennial fave since 2012) has also wooed younger eaters and taken off on social media. Hochman’s team emphasized that the quality of the offered choices had to be improved (which they were), and the experience mirrors the way younger people like to eat. You have lots of choices of smaller, individual items, various dipping sauces, and the potential for those camera-friendly cheese pulls. From 2023 to 2024, Triple Dipper sales were up 70%, accounting for 14% of all sales.

Hochman insists that the fundamentals of casual dining are what really have made the difference, though. The food’s better, the service is a lot better, and it’s a clean, fun, friendly atmosphere. The data shows that the time new customers come in to the time they come back for another visit is compressed. And that only happens when they have a consistently great experience.

How well has Chili’s been doing since the turnaround?

Chili’s sales grew steadily and reached +21% after Q1 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2025, customer traffic was up again, by 16%. Traffic continued to grow by 13% in the first quarter of 2026. This growth has led to over 19 consecutive quarters of same-store sales increases, which is nearly unheard of in the restaurant business, particularly post-COVID. 2024 annual revenue topped $4.4 billion, up from $3.1 billion in 2020, representing an astonishing 42% increase in just 4 years.

Chili’s competitors have taken notice. Neighborhood eatery Applebee’s launched their similar value meal concept at $9.99, trying to get their share of Chili’s renewed customer base. Is Hochman worried? Not really. He told WSJ, “I asked [a group of our VPs of Operations] about a deal that was undercutting us by 10% on a similar value meal construct, and they all started laughing [and said] ‘We don’t think this is going to dent us in the least.’ Because it’s not just about the lowest price, it’s also about what you get for that price. And we think that what we have is unbeatable.”

The numbers bear this out, as the numbers for the quarter when that competitive offer ran, Chili’s sales were up 31% and plus 20% in traffic growth. It’s clear that the guest isn’t just buying the lowest price out there. The competition will have to invest the years and the revenue to make the kinds of improvements Chili’s did, if they want to have a hope of seeing the same kinds of success.

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