Chili's just cut dozens of items from its menu - here are the beloved dishes that didn't make it
The casual dining chain has cut 40% of items from its menu as of Monday, September 18. According to Chili's, it's ditching trendy items in favor of classics: burgers, ribs, and fajitas.
Chili's released its new menu on Monday, and it has some very noticeable changes.
"Every dish that's taken off has somebody who likes it out there," Steve Provost, Chili's chief marketing officer, said in a call with reporters on Monday. "But we think we're at a moment with this category, with the tremendous headwinds it's facing, where less is truly more."
Instead of quietly shifting to the new menu, Chili's is launching an ad campaign that highlights what items have been cut. The chain will also publish the recipes of the most popular cut items on Pinterest.
Here are the Chili's items that are disappearing from the menu:
"Fresh Mex"
According to Provost, the "vast majority" of the items being cut are "Fresh Mex" menu items that the chain added in recent years.
"While we were chasing new platforms, we were losing our credibility on what built us," or burgers, ribs, and fajitas, Provost said.
Here are the Fresh Mex items being cut from the menu:
- Southwestern Mac & Cheese
- Chipotle Chicken Flatbread
- Southwest Chicken Soup
- Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
- Spicy Pasilla Chile Chicken
- Spicy Shrimp Tacos
- Smothered Chicken Burrito
- Smoked Chicken Quesadillas
- Smothered Carnitas Burrito
- Carnitas Fajitas
- Creamy Jalapeno Wings
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Loaded White Queso
- Pork Carnitas Tacos
- Prime Rib Fresh Mex Bowl
- Prime Rib Fajitas
- Prime Rib Tacos
Dishes trying too hard to be trendy
Provost and Chili's president Kelli Valade said that Chili's spent too much time chasing consumer trends in the past. Trendy items being cut include:
- Mango Chile Tilapia
- Buffalo Fried Cauliflower
- Ancho-crusted Steak
- Honey Chipotle Shrimp Steak
- Margherita Salad
- Crispy Asparagus
- Margarita Chicken Bowl
- Margarita Chicken Flatbread Salad
Simply unremarkable
Then, there are items that simply weren't that compelling to customers. Other menu items that didn't make the cut include:
- Turkey Sandwich
- Triple Berry Crumble Cake
- Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Triple Berry Margarita