I ate the same meal at TGI Fridays and Chili's. It's clear why only one is thriving.
Erin McDowell
- I ate the same meal at TGI Fridays and Chili's to compare the two chains.
- TGI Fridays just filed for bankruptcy, while Chili's is outperforming its competitors.
Chili's and TGI Fridays are both big names in fast-casual dining, but their recent performance tells two very different stories.
Chili's has been hitting its stride lately, with a 14% increase in same-restaurant sales and a 6.5% increase in traffic this summer compared to the same three-month period last year, according to a recent earnings report.
Meanwhile, TGI Fridays filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 2. Reuters reported the chain is facing $37 million in debt and plans to restructure by selling off its assets by January next year.
There are a few reasons for Chili's gains in relevancy. The company said in its most recent earnings call that higher menu pricing, increased restaurant traffic, and value-focused meal combos have contributed to its success.
Successful social-media campaigns, a streamlined menu focusing on its most popular items, and cost-conscious options like the "3 for Me" combo, which starts at $10.99, have helped the chain's growth, especially among younger consumers who value familiar favorites like burgers and wings at affordable prices.
CNN reported that the TikTok-famous Triple Dipper appetizer, which the company says is popular among younger customers, now accounts for 11% of Chili's sales, and orders for the menu item grew by 70% in the last year.
"Chili's has been proactive and they're doing well. TGI Fridays, arguably, have kind of rested on the brand, and that was not enough, and so now they're in bankruptcy," John Bringardner, the head of Debtwire, told Business Insider.
Bringardner said that TGI Fridays is likely to follow a "typical playbook" for a restaurant or retail chain filing for bankruptcy, including shutting down unprofitable locations and seeking a sale of the business.
TGI Fridays said the main reasons for filing for bankruptcy were financial challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and a flawed capital structure.
"This restructuring will allow our goforward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential," said Rohit Manocha, the executive chairman of TGI Fridays Inc., which is privately owned by the private equity firm TriArtisan Capital Advisors.
I ate the same meal at TGI Fridays and Chili's to see if I could spot any notable differences in value, quality, or overall experience — and possibly understand why one chain is thriving, while the other is struggling.
First, I visited my local Chili's in Massachusetts.
I arrived at around 1 p.m. on a weekday and found that the parking lot was decently busy. When we stepped inside, however, we were immediately seated at a booth near a window.
The dining room and bar area were clean and lively, with multiple television screens on at once.
While there were no sports games on when we sat down, there was a sports channel showing recaps and interviews with athletes.
There were a few tables filled, but there was still a lot of seating open at lunchtime.
A stand-up menu in the center of the table advertised Chili's drink specials.
In addition to the chain's all-day happy hour deals, there was also an advertisement for the $6 margarita of the month, which this month is the Autumn Breeze Marg.
Margaritas are one of the core menu items that Chili's is focusing on, the brand has said.
I also noticed that the chain was highlighting some of its "core four" menu items on a new menu page.
On the front of the new menu, the chain was loudly advertising three of its core menu items.
"Over the past two and a half years, we've removed around a quarter of our menu to focus on our core four offerings: burgers, crispers, fajitas, and margaritas, which now represent 47% of our business," Kevin Hochman, the president and CEO of Chili's parent company Brinker International Inc., said in October.
Though the margaritas were tempting, I started with a diet soda.
The drink came in a large stein and had free refills throughout our meal. It cost $3.29, plus tax.
Prices for each menu item will vary based on each Chili's and TGI Fridays location, so keep that in mind.
To start, I got an order of eight Buffalo wings.
Chili's had a large selection of boneless and bone-in wings in different flavors, from honey-chipotle to barbecue and Nashville hot. I opted for the classic Buffalo wings, which came served with a tub of ranch and blue-cheese dressing.
The order of eight wings cost $14.99, plus tax.
The wings came smothered in Buffalo sauce.
I got a selection of drumsticks and flats. They were a little on the smaller side compared to other wings I've had, but I didn't expect them to be massive at a fast-casual chain restaurant.
Despite their slightly small size, the wings were piping hot when I picked them up and fried to a golden crisp.
The sauce had a good balance of heat and buttery flavor.
The chicken meat inside was also moist and juicy. I could have easily polished off all eight of these wings, but I was happy I had brought a guest to share them with.
The wings paired well with the slightly tangy ranch and decadent blue-cheese dressing, but I had to give the win to the chain's classic ranch, which they seemed to offer with almost all of their appetizers when glancing through the menu.
I also ordered the chain's most classic cheeseburger.
The Oldtimer burger, which I ordered with cheddar cheese, comes topped with pickles, lettuce, sliced tomato, diced red onions, and mustard.
It cost $13.29, plus tax.
There was a generous spread of mustard across the top bun and the burger.
The cheddar cheese was also perfectly melted, and the other ingredients looked fresh. The burger patty also had a nice char on the outside, but was medium inside — exactly how I prefer my burgers.
This was a truly classic burger, but the mustard could have been toned down.
The mustard was really sharp, and while I do enjoy mustard, it was a little much for me. However, when I added ketchup to the burger, it did cut through some of that spicy flavor.
The rest of the burger really impressed me. I thought the char on the smashed burger patty was perfectly crispy, and the other ingredients were extremely fresh. The red onion was flavorful and added a bite to the burger, while the bun held it all together.
The fries also held their own. They were warm, crispy, and well-seasoned.
Overall, it was a good classic burger, but I've ordered Chili's burgers I've liked more in the past, such as the Big Smasher, the chain's play on a McDonald's Big Mac.
The next day, I visited a TGI Fridays in Massachusetts.
This location is locally owned and operated, so it is not included in the larger company's bankruptcy filing.
TGI Fridays Inc. owns 39 locations in the US, but there are 122 franchised locations in the US and 316 franchised international locations that are not included in the bankruptcy filing.
Chili's is a much larger chain. Reuters reported that as of June 28, 2023, there were 1,231 Chili's restaurants in the US.
This location is in the same shopping complex as multiple other chain restaurants, including Red Robin and Applebee's, which was located right across the street.
I visited on a Friday at lunchtime. There were a few people sitting at the bar and about five tables filled in the entire dining room.
The restaurant was about as busy as Chili's was when I visited on a Thursday at the same time. However, the atmosphere felt a little less lively.
I thought the decor style of the dining room felt a little dated.
While our table at Chili's was placed where we could clearly see the television screens to watch a game, the high backs of the booths at TGI Fridays and the overall layout of the dining room felt more formal.
The red-leather booths and striped tables felt a little corny and dated compared to the Chili's dining room, which was more understated.
I anticipated an outdated menu but was pleasantly surprised.
I was pleasantly surprised that new menu items had been added throughout the menu, even though none of them were personally very appealing to me — a Gen Z consumer, for what it's worth.
Throughout the menu, there appeared to be new additions, including the new Classic Fridays Combo, which sounded similar to Chili's highly popular Triple Dipper.
However, I personally preferred the appetizer options offered on the Chili's menu. TGI Fridays' potstickers and Philly cheesesteak egg rolls felt a little dated and odd on an American grill menu.
Bringardner said innovation and updating the menu frequently is one strategy that has worked well for Chili's.
"There are competitors that are offering kind of the similar overall experience, but they're doing it in a new fresher setting, with different, newer menu items," he said.
Many chains, from fast food to casual dining, are desperately trying to reach Gen Z. For many chains, that means leaning into spicy flavor profiles and value-based meals like the Triple Dipper.
"I think that then you've got to attract the Gen Z," Bringardner said. "You've got to get your new customer base coming in. And if you're not doing that, ultimately your sales are going to go down."
I ordered a diet soda to start.
The soda was roughly the same size as the same drink from Chili's and cost $3.29, plus tax — the same exact price.
Like Chili's, TGI Fridays also had a cocktail menu, but it didn't feel like as much of a focus for the brand as the margaritas were at Chili's.
Chili's advertised its drinks on a stand-up menu in the middle of the table and on a new menu handout, while TGI Fridays just had the regular cocktail menu.
Chili's emphasis on new margarita flavors, and the seasonal margarita of the month, felt more youthful and fun.
We started with an eight count of Buffalo wings.
Similar to Chili's, the wings were available in a variety of sauces.
The wings weren't as hot to the touch as the Chili's wings were when they arrived at the table. They also didn't come in a house Buffalo sauce but rather were tossed in Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce.
The order of eight wings cost $12.19, plus tax, which was cheaper than the wings from Chili's. These wings also came with a side of sliced celery sticks.
These wings were noticeably bigger than the ones from Chili's.
We were given a selection of drumsticks and flats in the order, just like at Chili's.
I preferred these wings to the ones from Chili's, but only just.
They had slightly more meat on them than the ones at Chili's, but I preferred the taste of the Buffalo sauce at the other chain.
The Chili's Buffalo sauce was more buttery and had a slight sweetness to it, while these wings tasted like standard Frank's Red Hot sauce — like a million wings I've had before, nothing different or exciting.
I also ordered a classic cheeseburger at TGI Fridays.
The cheeseburger comes with the classic fixings, including tomato, lettuce, American cheese, red onion, and pickles.
There's no sauce on the burger, but there's ketchup provided on every table, and I'm sure you could request mustard or ketchup on it if you desired.
The cheeseburger cost $12.49, plus tax, making it slightly less expensive than the Chili's burger.
The lack of sauce made the bun stick to the cheese when I looked inside it.
The bun was dry and hadn't been toasted. I would soon discover that "dry" was the operative word to describe this burger.
I asked for my burger to be cooked medium, but the burger bordered on well-done and was pretty dry. I did like the taste of the actual meat, but the compliments for this burger really ended there.
The burger was a little underwhelming.
The sliced tomato tasted pretty fresh, but the lettuce was droopy and easy to miss. The pickles and onions were fine, but overall, I thought this burger was really lacking in flavor.
The fries were decent, but I thought they didn't have as much seasoning or flavor as the ones from Chili's.
I tried to keep in mind that this is the chain's most basic burger, so I should have perhaps expected just that: a basic flavor profile. However, when comparing the two burgers, Chili's was the clear winner.
After eating at both chains, I could understand why TGI Fridays is facing an uphill battle.
The food was decent, but it certainly wouldn't have me racing back. Everything from the atmosphere to the menu itself left a little to be desired and felt dated, frankly.
And even though the meal at TGI Fridays was a few dollars cheaper, I don't think it was a better value. While you'll pay a little bit more at Chili's, I think that's worth it for better food quality and a more youthful atmosphere.
TGI Fridays did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, while Chili's said it did not wish to comment.
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