Diners are flocking to Chili’s again, says parent company.

How did they turn it around? How did they leave Applebees in the dust?

>>21436273 (OP)
chili dust is more potent than apple dust when it gets crammed up your ass

>>21436273 (OP)
What a fat ugly bitch. I hate white women

The triple dipper is a legit game changer

i havent been to a chilis in like 10 years, but the last time i went, it looked like they were going all in on the bar food tapas fusion theme. they had shit like chicken bacon ranch quesadillas, and reuben egg rolls.

meanwhile BWW was trying to be a boomer sports bar with beer and nachos, and applebees was trying to be a diner but with no soul. like a dennys with no breakfast menu

>>21436297
That 10 dollar burger deal they did helped too

>>21436302
yeah, order togo on their app and pull in to the parking space for pickup
a wagie comes and delivers it to my car quicker than mcdicks
a better burger and cheaper than a qpc meal

>>21436311
This

>>21436273 (OP)
Probably advertising, those places are indistinguishable.
The one that did the viral campaign about how it's cheaper to get a burger fries and soda at their restaurant than a Quarter Pounder Meal at McDonalds

>>21436297
Applebees is going the way of TGI Friday's it boomed, it busted hard, it tried to inch back but ultimately it just became too corny. It never quite figured out Millennials and will never catch Zooms

>>21436336
TGIF should have never went away, Applebees should have instead.

>>21436295
that's a man actually

>>21436273 (OP)
What is the appeal of places like this?

>>21437771
These days it's getting a better burger and fries than McDonalds for almost the same price.

>>21437771
Fast food is so overpriced that ordering at chili's and such for either curbside or the in store pickup is basically the same price but much better.

>>21436295
Never insult my race online again.

>>21437790
How do they do it?

>>21437771
>What is the appeal of places like this?
Business or family meals where you want a "sit-down" restaurant experience, but also:
>cheap
>fast
>"middle of the road" menu, something for everybody
>(and alcohol)

>>21437901
Even if you don't want to go in and sit down, you can get a burger that mogs any fast food burger and fries for the same price. I am not trying to say it is some amazing burger, but it's a hell of a lot better than any drive through joint I can think of.

Out of curiosity, I went to check and it looks like there's only one Chili's in all of NYC, way the fuck out there. Truly a restaurant for the damned

>>21436273 (OP)
The cost of fast food has risen dramatically in relation to fast casual so the price difference is now minimal. You can either pay $9-11 for a meal at mcdonalds or $10-12 for a meal at chilis or applebees.

>>21436273 (OP)
applebees is culturally associated with fat people and frozen food, chilis is the same with the frozen food but the name implies the food is going to at least have some flavor (texmex) while applebees is generic geriatric american food

>>21437921
Yeah it's for suburbs. You don't go there when you have real restaurants as an option.

>>21437954
Oh yeah I forgot the airport too, but yeah, no real restaurants there either

>>21437771
>passable food (more often than not, at least)
>kids menu
>booze
>relatively affordable with big portions
>accessible by car

that’s it
this category of restaurant definitely appeals to lardos and picky eaters, but it’s comfy at times if I’m being honest. and very cheap

>>21438003
it's cheap, but not very cheap for what you're getting

fast food having risen in price to be comparable is probably a big factor, though

>>21436273 (OP)
their santa fe chicken salad is the bomb. they also make a good burger. there's nothing wrong with 90% of their food.

>>21438171
The endless chips and salsa is good too, so are the waitresses wearing tight jeans

>>21438171
This board is so reliable. If someone posted a thread about how great Chili’s is, all the replies would be criticizing it. If it’s a thread about how bad Chili’s is, then everyone comes to the defense. You all are like insects.

>>21437914
No.

their salsa is really good. my favorite food is chips and salsa and i've had a fuck ton of salsa in my life, and chilis salsa is still always one of my favorites. not sure why. maybe just cause i grew up on it (suburban dallas) but there's something about the flavor that i really enjoy
(all time favorite salsa is joe t garcias from fort worth if anyone is curious, and if you weren't curious that's alright i'm letting you know anyway)
then you get some skillet queso to go along with the chips/salsa, do a triple dipper, get some margaritas, good times. even the "bland" stuff like grilled chicken or a mexican rice bowl thing i forget what they call it, fresca bowl or something, are good, and good prices.
unfortunately i live in a city now and went car-less so chilis is not really accessible for me anymore, i do miss it.

It's cheap. Cheaper than fast food in my area and I'm in Oklahoma. Sonic is literal garbage (aside from their ice cream) and a meal there will push $15 and there's a good chance the order will be screwed up AND I have to sit in my hot car (or waste gas) waiting on my food. Chili's is nice enough and surprisingly cheap. That's all it takes to win me over in this miserable era.

>>21438400
Sonic's degrade in quality needs to be studied. I remember when they had some pretty tasty burgers, onion rings and cheddar bites. Went the other day and all of them tasted much worse than what they did from just when I was in college 6 years ago. Feels like they are just giving up.

still not going to go back until they put the original chicken crispers back on the menu

>>21438997
Yeah, I've noticed this too. I only just moved to an area with a local Sonic, after 12 years in a place that was almost an hour from the nearest one so I almost never had it, and I was hugely disappointed when I tried it. Not even worth going for the ice cream since there's literally a Dairy Queen on the same block and both their burgers and their blizzards are better than Sonic's equivalents.

Last I remember from eating at chillis was the burgers were appropriately sized for the high prices. Essentially a chain restaurant with regional tier burgers.

>>21436273 (OP)
Probably their meal deal putting in work. Think it was $12 for a full size order of chips and salsa, a double cheeseburger with fries and a drink.
They have a good variety up to $20 for the meal.
Food is mediocre but it's Chili's not really expecting fine dining.

>>21439103
The burgers there now are underpriced for what they offer.

>>21437892
Alcohol. Margins on booze are so high they can afford to cut the profit on some food to near zero and turn a profit. This won't last though, so get it while it lasts

>>21439151
why wont it last? whats the next deal?

>>21439151
They might be able to maintain it at locations near office buildings, assuming that zoomers still do happy hours. (Do they?)

>>21438182
Erm.....yes..?
lol

>>21439154
Eventually some big nose suit will say "surely we could raise the price a dollar and they'll still come to the restaurant" and repeat
>>21439158
Zoomers are the dryest generation, possibly ever. The big problem is they're not really moralistic about it, so Gen alpha won't even have the rebellion angle to revive the industry

>>21439166
we do those green hours in our house, fuck paying overpriced stuff to sit in some cookie cutter "bar"

>>21436273 (OP)
Is that Rachel?

>>21437771
6oz. burgers?
They do the fries and burgers fresh?
Simple as, really.

>>21439166
>Eventually some big nose suit will say "surely we could raise the price a dollar and they'll still come to the restaurant" and repeat
They already did that the deal during Covid was in-fucking sane.
>3 for me
You could get a double burger, (12oz. of meat per burger), a giant bag of chips, queso, guacamole, a frozen Margarita, and a slice of cheesecake for $16
I did that all the time during covid and simply ate that as 1 meal a day.