Casual dining restaurants have to walk a tightrope when it comes to offering strong value and a good customer experience. Chili's has succeeded in finding the right mix of price, value, and experience that keeps the chain affordable while differentiating it from fast-food and fast-casual chains.
"Chili's was the unquestionable same-store sales champ in 2025, though this has set the brand up for some difficult comps periods," Restaurant Dive reported. "…In its most recent quarter, that success was driven primarily by traffic growth, a remarkable feat at a time when many brands faced stagnant or reversing traffic."
Other chains, including Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday, and Applebee's, have shrunk. On The Border filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and only a handful of franchised locations remain, while Bahama Breeze was shut down by Darden, its parent company.
Buffalo Wild Wings, another casual dining chain going after that same audience, has also been closing restaurants. It's selective, and the chain has opened some new locations as well, but that's cold comfort to people who watch their nearby location shut down.
Chili's success has been driven by its value offerings. That's something Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman talked about during the Chili's parents company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

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