Chili's

Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain.[3] The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International.

Chili's Grill & Bar
TypeWholly owned subsidiary
IndustryRestaurant
GenreCasual dining
FoundedMarch 13, 1975 (1975-03-13)
FounderLarry Lavine
Headquarters3000 Olympus Blvd
Coppell, Texas, U.S. 75019
Number of locations
1,606 (2017)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Wyman Roberts (CEO), Kelli Valade, President
ProductsAmerican cuisine
ParentBrinker International
Websitechilis.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

History

Chili's first location, a converted postal station on Greenville Avenue in the Vickery Meadows area of Dallas, Texas, opened in 1975. The original Chili's on Greenville Avenue moved to a new building on the same site in 1981 before relocating again in 2007.[4]

Lavine's concept was to create an informal, full-service dining restaurant with a menu featuring different types of hamburgers offered at an affordable price. The brand proved successful, and by the early 1980s, there were 28 Chili's locations in the region, all featuring similar Southwest decor.[5]

In 1983, Lavine sold the company to restaurant executive Norman E. Brinker, formerly of the Pillsbury restaurant group that owned Bennigan's.[5]

Locations

Chili's serves American food, Tex-Mex cuisine and dishes influenced by Mexican cuisine,[6] such as spicy shrimp tacos, quesadillas, fajitas.

In addition to their regular menu, the company offers a nutritional menu, allergen menu, and vegetarian menu. It also offers a veggie burger (non-vegan) that is supplied by the Kellogg Company.[7] In 2016, the "Sunrise Burger" (which includes an egg) and the "Ultimate Bacon Burger" were added to the menu.[8]

Advertising

"Chili's (Welcome to Chili's!)" is an advertising jingle used in Chili's Restaurant commercials to advertise the restaurant's line of baby back ribs. The song was written by Guy Bommarito and produced by Tom Faulkner Productions for GSD&M Advertising of Austin, Texas. Faulkner sings both "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back...", as well as the melodic theme. The deep "Bar-B-Q sauce" line was sung by famed New York bass vocalist Willie McCoy. A 1996 rendition of the jingle features a doo-wop quartet, Take 6, singing a cappella. Advertising Age magazine named the song first on its list of "10 songs most likely to get stuck in your head" in 2004.[9] In October 2017, the jingle was revived to advertise Chili's new menu, where it was re-conceptualized as "Oh Baby, Chili's is Back (Baby, Back, Baby, Back)".[10]

In 2008, the chain aired parody ads for "P. J. Bland's", a fictional restaurant chain with cardboard foods.[11]

In 2012, Chili's used Wendy Rene's Stax single, "Bar-B-Q", in their TV commercial.[12]

In September 2017 Chili's dropped about 40 percent of its menu items to focus on burgers, ribs, and fajitas.[13]

In February 2020, Chili's announced a new marketing campaign encouraging people to "laugh so hard you pee a little."[14] The new campaign was focused on "Out to 'Ita" and used elements of ASMR.

Locations
Map showing every country with at least one Chili's restaurant.
AsiaEuropeMiddle EastNorth America / CaribbeanCentral / South AmericaAfrica
India[3]GermanyBahrainCanadaBrazilMorocco
IndonesiaRussiaJordanDominican RepublicCosta RicaTunisia
JapanKuwaitMexicoColombia
MalaysiaLebanonUnited StatesEcuador
PhilippinesOmanEl Salvador
Republic of KoreaQatarGuatemala
TaiwanSaudi ArabiaHonduras
People's Republic of China[15] United Arab Emirates Panama
EgyptPeru
Venezuela
Chile

As of 2015, they have 1,580 locations worldwide, including 839 that are company-owned and 741 that are franchised.[16][17]

In October 2008, a Chili's Australia franchise was prosecuted and fined AU$300,000 by the NSW Office of Industrial Relations for underpaying staff, pressuring employees to sign an Australian workplace agreement, and failing to pay AU$45,000 in owed wages by a deadline set by the Office of Industrial Relations. In the same year, Chili's announced that it would be closing all of its Australian branches.[18]

References
  1. Brinker International, Inc. (June 29, 2011). "FY 2011 10-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  2. Brinker International, Inc. (June 29, 2011). "2011 Annual Report to Shareholders". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  3. "American and Mexican Food Restaurant and Bar in India - Chili's India". Chili's Grill & Bar Restaurant.
  4. Brinker publication (October 2007). "Brinker 2007 Corporate report". Brinker International, Inc. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  5. "Brinker International". Answers.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  6. "Chili's website". If you're hungry for juicy burgers, Tex-Mex classics, or Mexican-inspired bowls, you've come to the right place.
  7. "Chili's Restaurant Menu". Brinker International. 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  8. Whitten, Sarah (19 July 2016). "Chili's launches new craft hamburgers to battle unsavory sales". CNBC. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  9. "10 Songs most likely to get stuck in your head.(The Book of Tens)". Advertising Age. December 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  10. Pennell, Julie (October 6, 2017). "Chili's revives famous 'baby back ribs' jingle ... but it's a little different". Today. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  11. "Chili's Spoofs Restaurant Ads with 'P.J. Bland's' Campaign". Burger Business. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  12. "Chili's $20 Dinner for Two TV Commercial, Song by Wendy Rene". iSpot.tv. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  13. "Chili's just cut dozens of items from its menu — here are the beloved dishes that didn't make it". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  14. "Chili's wants you to 'laugh so hard you pee a little' with new campaign". Marketing Dive. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  15. "Chili's (Binjiang Da Dao)". Smart Shanghai. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  16. http://www.brinker.com/company/Brinker2015/annualreport2015.pdf
  17. "Chilis Franchise Information". www.franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  18. "Fast food chain off the boil". Illawarra Mercury. 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
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