How Chili's Won When America Raged About Fast-Food Prices

[question everything]

When social-media feeds lit up with complaints about how pricey fast-food meals had become (“By the time you buy a meal for yourself and someone else, you’ve spent well over $20,” one woman said in a TikTok last year.), Kevin Hochman saw an opportunity in the outrage.

The chief executive of the company that owns casual-dining chain Chili’s decided it was time to touch a third rail of restaurant marketing: He compared Chili’s to McDonalds, a surprising tactic since casual-dining chains in the past didn’t consider themselves rivals to fast food. Chili’s diners, the company pitches, get similar burgers to a Big Mac but served at a table with unlimited chips and soda for the same price as a combo meal. And if they are in the mood, a margarita for $6 too.

The average cost of a fast-food burger meal has climbed to $12 from $7.50 in 2019, market-research firm Technomic said. This month, Chili’s is back at it, advertising a new Big QP burger with “85% more beef than a Quarter Pounder with Cheese” for $10.99, a not-subtle reference to one of McDonald’s signature burgers.

For most consumer companies, inflation has been a curse. But Chili’s has found an unusual way to turn inflation into a marketing pitch: since your fast-food burger costs so much, why not go just a little bit more upscale. While casual-dining chains as a group barely eked out a 1% increase in U.S. sales last year, at Chili’s they grew by 15%, Technomic said.

The ads were “like a spark to get people to reconsider coming to Chili’s,” said Hochman, 51, a consumer-products and restaurant-industry veteran. People are saying a fast-food meal at around $16 “is ridiculous,” he said.

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https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/chilis-kevin-hochman-fast-food-dining-1ad576c2?st=t16nPa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

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[JustAnotherGen]

1. Smart move

The liquor/beer drives the profits. There are very few 'chains' we'll eat at - but Chilis is one we like. Foood is consistent and quick - and it's normally selected so we can have a good margarita . . . or 2.

[marble falls]

2. Ours went credit card only and ordering at table computers that have cameras and sell ...

... games to kids.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. Ours still takes cash

My husband is a cash only kind of guy at restaurants and bars. He's also big on cash tips. Hopefully they won't take that away from ours.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. Your local Chili's has gone credit only?

Oh, my.

I just don't get how any business can refuse all cash, given that every bill says "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private." There's no exception about if a company prefers not to mess with cash.

One of these years I'll work up the nerve to make a substantial order at a credit only place, and then have nothing but cash on me.

[MichMan]

7. Go trying buying tickets or concessions at a major sporting event and see what happens

[JBTaurus83]

3. We like Chilis as well

affordable and tastes much better than fast food.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. Final straw

was stopping at Five Guys for lunch while running errands last summer. We spent almost $40 - Two burgers, two shakes, large fries. He said no more - it doesn't even taste good.

That's when Chilis became our 'fast food' place.

[marble falls]

8. I liked Chilis, but taking out the servers taking our orders made it hard to get things like another ...

... fork or hot sauce or another Blue Moon. Using the computer for things like that made it take forever if ever to get things.

[JBTaurus83]

9. I didn't know they were doing that

Here in Philly we have servers. You do pay on the little computer screens though.

[marble falls]

10. The Chil'is here seems to be owned by some angry people who hate servers. They have people who only bring ...

... food to the table. They have to auction off meals. I hate that, we're old and a lot of our friends are older, it's a drag when you have 8 or 10 and they have to "who gets the sirloin reduced to a piece of char?" Getting forgotten stuff or more of something is a pain and takes forever.