Hello, this is the story of...Chili's.
The story of Chili's is actually, necessarily also sort of the story of Brinker Int'l, the
parent company that owns the Chili's brand of restaurants.
In 1967, Larry Lavine, a young man fresh off a failed attempt at a music career, attended
the inaugural Terlingua Chili Cook-off hosted in Terlingua, Texas.
The chili cook-off was hosted by none other than racing legend Carroll Shelby, who coincidentally
was Larry Lavine's father-in-law.
From that moment on, Mr. Lavine was hooked on the concept of the chili cook-off.
A few years later, on March 13th, 1975, Larry Lavine would open the first Chili's restaurant,
where they served gourmet burgers and french fries, and were known for having lines out
the door.
Around this time, in 1978, a man by the name of Doug Brooks would also begin working at
Chili's...more on him in a bit.
Throughout the rest of the 1970's, Larry would continue expanding the number of Chili's locations.
Continuing into the 1980s, things were still going very well for Chili's.
By this time, they had opened 23 locations, spread across six different states.
This success caught the attention of famed restaurant tycoon Norman Brinker.
Larry Lavine has stated that it was always his intention to sell Chili's, and in 1983
that's exactly what he did, with Brinker International taking control of the Chili's chain of restaurants.
This was only the beginning though, as Brinker had big plans for Chili's.
Following shortly after the acquisition, Chili's was listed on the NASDAQ , and announced their
IPO.
This led to a series of expansions and changes, including to the menu.
In 1984, Chili's added fajitas to their menu, followed in 1986 by their Baby Back Ribs.
This was also the first time their now-famous "Baby Back Ribs" jingle hit the airwaves.
The menu wasn't the only thing to expand though, as Chili's Inc. acquired Romano's Macaroni
Grill in 1989.
The 1990s is the period in which Chili's evolved from a small regional chain, into the brand
that everyone knows and recognizes today.
For most people outside of the American southwest, sometime in the 90s is probably when you first
remember visiting a Chili's restaurant.
In 1991 Chili's officially took the title of their parent company, Brinker International.
In that same year, Chili's opened their first international restaurant in Canada, followed
shortly after with a restaurant in Mexico in 1992.
In 1994, after 11 years at the helm, Norman Brinker retired, appointing Ron McDougall
as the new CEO of Brinker International; however, Norman would remain on as Chairman of the
Board.
Despite these changes though, in 1996 Chili's would go back to their gourmet burger roots,
introducing the Big Mouth Burgers to their menu.
By the 2000's, Chili's was well on its way to becoming a brand recognized all over the
world.
2002 would see Chili's team up with pop sensation N*Sync, who performed a cover of the famous
"Baby Back Ribs" song.
In 2004, Ron McDougall stepped down as Brinker CEO.
In his place, Doug Brooks was appointed as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Brinker in
addition to his President title.
This is the same Doug Brooks that first started with Chili's back in 1978.
And finally, on Aug. 3, 2004, Chili’s opened their 1,000th restaurant, at Pinnacle Park
in Dallas, TX.
Which brings us nearly to the present.
As of 2014, there were more than 1,600 Chili's in 33 countries and two territories.
Every year, Chili's serves roughly 281 million customers.
A few quick stats: Chili's customers consume about 60.4 million pounds of fajita meat every
year and roughly 20,000 miles of its famous Baby Back ribs.
Chili's also claims that it serves enough burgers that put end-to-end, they would stretch
for 3,000 miles.
In 2013, Doug Brooks stepped down as Brinker CEO and President, but would remain as Chairman
of the Board.
Wyman Roberts was appointed as Brinker President and CEO in addition to his President of Chili’s
title.
While he takes the reigns of a popular brand with a strong history, the fast-casual industry
as a whole is entering a period of uncertainty.
And what happened to Larry Lavine, the man who started it all?
Well, he's still going at it as of today!
Larry now runs a restaurant consulting group called "Turtle Creek Restaurant Group".
He also continues to open new restaurant projects, his latest being a bbq restaurant called "1050
BBQ" located in Richardson, TX.
So it would appear that after 40 years, the founding and sale of a massive restaurant
chain, and a number of additional restaurant endeavors, Larry is still happy to set up
shop not too far from where he started it all.
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