The #1 Thing You Should Always Order at Chili's
All hail Chili's—the fast-casual chain has pulled off the seemingly-impossible by not only recovering from low profits and increasing irrelevance in the restaurant space, but truly thriving with a whole new generation of customers. The focus on great food, value for money, and clever marketing (those cheeky digs at McDonald's are actually quite funny) has paid off, and guests are flocking to the chain.
While the new burger meal combos are nothing to sneeze at, what's got people really excited is the Chili's Triple Dipper. Sales of the wildly popular appetizer are up 70% thanks to it going viral on TikTok, fueling Chili's 14.1% same-store sales growth at the end of last year. "There's obviously some luck involved," CEO Kevin Hochman told Restaurant Business—but most viral sensations fizzle out and this one hasn't. The concept is simple enough—choose three appetizers from 18 which are served with a variety of delicious dipping sauces. The combo costs $16.69 in Ohio, slightly more in California. Either way it's a truly delicious deal that is serious value for money.
"I have an obsession with Chilli's Triple Dipper, it's just so good. I get the honey chipotle crispers, mozzarella sticks, and southwest egg rolls. I never get anything else from Chilli's anymore 😂 unless I'm with someone and they order another appetizer. It's so good," one enthused Redditor said. "The promotion they ran for them is working very very well. They were always a popular item, but now we're selling 5x as many of them. It has to be the most sold meal at our store," another commented.
Many guests simply pick the Triple Dipper as an entrée instead of an appetizer. "It's ordered way more often as an entree than an appetizer. Chilis Bartender for five years," one employee revealed. "In the few years I was there, it was almost exclusively ordered as the main. The only times I ever recall it being ordered as an app is when people were sharing it," another agreed.
Another big hit with Chili's customers is the 3 For Me deal, where guests can choose a beverage, starter and main, starting at $10.99. "If you want something cheap. 3 for me is a great deal. If you want to be full, triple dipper," one fan recommended. "Chilis slaps, idc what anyone says. Mozzarella sticks are legit and their burgers haven't disappointed me yet," another insisted.
While these menu items are not "cheap" (of course, it's all relative), Chili's is somehow cheaper than many fast-food options these days, which is part of why the brand is seen as worth it compared to other more popular options that cost more money for less—and usually disappointing—food. "We talked about these stories and what we were going to do. The menus are tighter, the service is swifter, the restaurants are cleaned and maintained," Hochman said, via Nation's Restaurant News. "We're back on social media and relevant. We're making things easier for managers. Then, we just started doing it and all of those things started building on top of each other."
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