I’ve been eating at Chili's for years — 7 things showed me it was poised for a comeback

I'm a longtime Chili's customer who saw signs of its comeback years ago.

Erin McDowell/Business Insider I've been eating at Chili's for years, before the chain started seeing a comeback.

From my first visit, I noticed a few things that set it apart from other chains.

The simple menu and streamlined payment process were attractive to me as a Gen Z customer.

Chili's is in the midst of a major comeback, fueled by the viral popularity of its Triple Dipper appetizer platter and a new lineup of chicken sandwiches .

On a recent earnings call, CEO Kevin Hochman celebrated the chain's 21st consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, crediting its chicken-sandwich campaign for helping drive it.

Daily orders of the base-menu chicken sandwich rose 175% by the end of the quarter, he said, calling the item a deliberate effort to bring more customers through the door.

Chili's has been quietly building toward it for years, with Hochman telling me in May that the chain was focused on perfecting the fundamentals rather than making any flashy updates.

"The everyday stuff, that makes us better and better, that's kind of been our secret sauce," he said.

I first visited Chili's in 2023 , before the Triple Dipper became a social-media phenomenon and the chain emerged as a winner in the restaurant industry's value wars .

From that first visit, I noticed a few things that made Chili's feel different from other legacy casual-dining brands.

Here are seven signs that convinced me Chili's was poised for a comeback — and may have the staying power to keep growing.

The restaurant always seemed to be busy, especially on a weekend night.

Erin McDowell/Business Insider On my first-ever visit to Chili's location in Queens, New York, it was extremely busy on a Friday night in September 2023.