The casual giant could reach as many as 30 stores per year by fiscal 2029
Chili’s is taking the brand momentum behind its comeback and turning it into a new growth engine, with plans to open as many as 30 restaurants a year by fiscal 2029.
After several years of rebuilding the business from the inside out, Chili’s is now entering a new phase where marketing, value, menu innovation, restaurant remodels and new locations are working together to drive continued growth.
The brand has identified more than 300 trade areas where it believes it can add restaurants, with 15 locations already approved for fiscal 2028 and another 15 approved for fiscal 2029. Another 46 deals are currently in progress.
But the expansion comes after a significant marketing and brand transformation.
Building Brand Momentum
Chili’s has spent the past several years rebuilding its relevance with consumers, pairing operational improvements with a more aggressive and culturally connected marketing strategy.
Under George Felix, who became Chili’s chief marketing officer in 2022, the brand leaned into a more culturally relevant voice, social media and campaigns that connected the legacy brand with younger consumers. The strategy included highly visible activations, menu-driven social moments and a renewed emphasis on what made Chili’s distinctive in the first place.
The marketing did not operate independently of the business. Chili’s leadership has repeatedly pointed to improvements in food, service and the overall guest experience as the foundation that allowed the advertising and social activity to translate into sustained traffic and sales.
Marketing meets capacity
At the same time, weekly customer counts have increased from about 3,400 guests per restaurant in 2023 to 4,200 this year. Chili’s is targeting another increase to 4,300, which the company estimates could contribute approximately 2 percent to same-store sales.
That makes the next phase particularly interesting from a marketing perspective. The brand is no longer simply trying to get consumers back into existing restaurants. It is preparing to take the revitalized Chili’s experience into new markets.
Reimagining the brand experience
Restaurant remodels are also becoming part of the growth strategy.
Chili’s completed 11 remodels during fiscal 2026 and has 70 projects underway for fiscal 2027. Beginning in fiscal 2028, the company plans to renovate approximately 10 percent of its system each year, or about 110 restaurants annually. Early remodels have generated a reported 3 to 5 percent sales lift.
And with 75 percent of Chili’s customers dining inside its restaurants, the company sees the restaurant itself as an important part of delivering on the brand promise.
The next growth engine
The company plans to continue using marketing and value to drive traffic while improving the guest experience, developing new menu categories and increasing the capacity of existing restaurants. At the same time, new units and remodeled locations will give consumers more opportunities to experience the updated brand.
For Chili’s, the next chapter isn’t simply about opening more restaurants. It is about taking a marketing-led brand turnaround and scaling it.
As Brinker CFO Mika Ware put it, Chili’s now has “multiple growth engines,” including same-store sales, restaurant reimages and new units.
