RNAROUND AT CHILI’S.
unit Chili’s in the 1980s, or when Maggiano’s came into the fold in 1995. He added to that list the arrival of Hochman as Brinker International CEO two and a half years ago, earning a loud and long cheer from the crowd of “Chiliheads.” It’s safe to say the mood these days throughout the Chili’s system is a good one, which is exactly what happens when a chain completely changes the restaurant business equation. Chili’s completed a year in which its sales and consumer enthusiasm only appeared to build over time, ending the year with 31% same-store sales growth in the fourth quarter. Chili’s had never done that. And it wasn’t cheap, either: The chain’s same-store sales have increased every quarter since the pandemic. Average unit volumes increased 16% last year alone. The stock price is up 380% since Hochman took over. Maybe more importantly, the brand is “cool again,” luring
Gen Z customers with the chain’s social media-friendly cheese pulls, burger offerings and margaritas. It’s also inspired an industry to rethink value, focusing on the quality and service customers are getting for their money, rather than just pricing everything cheap and hoping people come in the door. Yet let’s get real here: This is all just so shocking. Nobody—nobody—expected this. If they say they did, they’re lying. It’s one thing for a Raising Cane’s or Wingstop or Cava to do a 30%-plus same-store sales figure, but this is Chili’s we’re talking about here. We haven’t talked about Chili’s this much since we were all at the mall listening to the latest Tiffany tape on our $99 Sony Walkmans. “I thought casual dining was dead and gone,” former Yum Brands CEO Greg Creed said. He ran Yum’s Taco Bell for years and guided it into the brand it is today. And yet, he said, “I’ve never delivered a plus-30. And this is in a category that I thought was dead.” It’s certainly more than enough to have
earned Hochman the title of Restaurant Business’ Restaurant Leader of the Year, an honor selected by the editors of Restaurant Business and celebrated at the Restaurant Leadership Conference, to be held April 13 to 16 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kevin Hochman doesn’t come across as your typical, public company CEO. If there is an ego, it’s difficult to find one—he admitted he was embarrassed to have received the award, for instance, and is perfectly willing to occupy the background while his lieutenants take center stage. He wears thick, dark-rimmed glasses and prefers quarter-zip pullovers to suits and ties. He has a penchant for self- depreciation. “He’s quirky,” Creed said. Don’t let any of that fool you. Hochman doesn’t like complacency. And he is exceptionally confident in what he thinks is right. After more than a decade running restaurant chains, it’s difficult to argue with the results. After he took over as chief marketing officer for KFC U.S. in 2014, he had
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