Chili’s just notched its 19th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, proving that the brand’s turnaround effort “is sustaining over the long-term,” Brinker CEO and President Kevin Hochman said in a statement.
The casual chain posted comparable restaurant sales growth of 8.6% during fiscal Q2 2026, which ended Dec. 24, 2025, the company said in a press release Wednesday. Chili’s two-year comp sales grew 43%, Hochman said.
Hochman attributed the ongoing sales growth to improved food quality, hospitality and employee satisfaction.
Menu innovation and upgrades to various items had a significant positive impact on sales during the quarter. Chili's brought back its Skillet Queso last quarter, for example, and the Southwestern Queso and Original Queso are selling 20% higher than past Queso lineups, Hochman said during a Wednesday earnings call.
The chain also relaunched nachos with chicken, bacon and ranch. The new nachos sell 170% more than the previous iteration of the nachos, he added. The bacon cheeseburger was upgraded with thicker bacon strips and triple the amount of bacon, and this item is raking in 43% more sales, as well.
“What's important to take away from these examples is as we upgrade the menu offerings while attracting a new generation of guests, we continue to build bigger, sustainable sales layers in the business,” Hochman said.
Updating menus with higher quality ingredients and different portion sizes, not just new items, has helped other chains, including BJ’s Restaurants, improve guest satisfaction scores and drive gains in comparable sales and traffic. P.F. Chang’s and Olive Garden have also changed their menus to include different portion sizes.
Chili’s eliminated a net total of six menu items to help the team focus more on food quality and consistency, Hochman said. He didn’t say which items were removed from the menu.
“One of the keys to our success has been staying disciplined on food innovation, which means avoiding launching food limited-time offerings,” Hochman said. “This allows us to focus our efforts to improve our core offerings, simplify operations and keep field leader attention on [operational] fundamentals like hospitality and great food.”
Next on the menu agenda, Chili’s will add a premium chicken sandwich lineup that is currently in testing at 200 restaurants. This lineup has done well from a sales mix standpoint, with little advertising support, he said. That menu will launch nationally in April, backed by advertising and earned media, he said.
Earned media refers to word-of-mouth publicity generated by working with influencers for free, or by fans who post about the brand online.
The upgraded menu includes a base sandwich with a brioche bun, semi-cured pickles, mayonnaise and hand-breaded chicken breast. That recipe was developed a year ago and is inspired by Popeyes’ chicken sandwich.
Chili’s will then add a variety of flavors to that base, including both existing flavors and new ones. The menu will have the base sandwich, mid-tier sandwich at a higher price point and premium sandwiches with add-ons like bacon and produce that will be the highest price point, Hochman said. Additionally, Chili’s will offer various sides and dip cups to enhance the item further.
“Chicken sandwiches is a very large market with over 80% of people buying them at least once last year, and is by far the biggest segment of all restaurant chicken servings,” Hochman said. “It has the potential to drive customer traffic both with new and existing guests.”
Menu innovation isn’t Chili’s sole traffic driver, however. The brand’s positioning as a value leader also plays a major role. It’s 3 for Me deal at an $11.99 price point has helped drive traffic in recent quarters, for example.
“Chili's was the #1 traffic brand in casual dining for the entire 2025 year” Hochman said. “And what's even more encouraging is Black Box data is telling us our per person check average is still more than $3 less than our direct casual dining competitors, and more than $4 less than casual dining as a whole. Simply put, Chili's has been repositioned to win for the long term, and that's exactly what this team is going to do.”
