Chili's Plans 30 New Restaurants a Year by Fiscal 2029

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Chili's has approved 15 restaurants for fiscal 2028 and another 15 for fiscal 2029 as it targets 2–3 percent annual unit growth and as many as 30 openings per year by fiscal 2029. The casual-dining chain has identified more than 300 trade areas for potential locations, which CFO Mika Ware described as visibility into a decade of development, and an additional 46 deals are in progress. New restaurants are expected to cost between $5 million and $6 million, with returns supported by average unit volumes of $5 million and restaurant-level operating margins exceeding 18 percent. Chili's recently acquired 10 franchised locations in Alabama and has identified five additional sites there, and it owns development rights across all 50 states. Separately, the company completed 11 remodels during fiscal 2026 and has 70 projects in progress for fiscal 2027, with plans to renovate roughly 10 percent of its system annually beginning in fiscal 2028, equal to approximately 110 restaurants per year. The first 16 completed remodels carried an average cost of $600,000 per location, including $100,000 for bar renovations required at an estimated 20 percent of restaurants, while the other 80 percent should cost closer to $500,000 per project, and Ware said early remodels are delivering a 3 percent to 5 percent sales lift. The growth plan follows a turnaround that lifted Chili's average unit volumes from slightly more than $3 million to $5 million over three years, improved restaurant operating margins by 660 basis points, and raised Brinker revenue from $4.1 billion to $5.8 billion, with the company projecting annual revenue growth of 4–6 percent and double-digit earnings-per-share growth over the coming three years.

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