--- title: "Franchise Deep Dive: Chili's Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data" url: https://burnaze.com/article/895c231f-371d-46d6-8d0f-942d95371b41 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-chilis-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2722559 category: "Casual dining" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Casual dining" topics: ["Finance & M&A"] published: 2023-06-03T17:12:20.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T22:34:00.749Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/9af984b3561ff50101c41e4c763da7e33498.jpg --- # Franchise Deep Dive: Chili's Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data **TL;DR:** Chili's is a casual dining franchise with over 1,600 locations, founded in 1975 by Larry Lavine and currently owned by Brinker International. The franchise has a strong potential for ROI, but requires hefty startup costs. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2023-06-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-chilis-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2722559).* ## Key facts - Chili's has over 1,600 locations - Average gross sales: $2,531,000 - Initial franchise fee: $40,000 to $60,000 ## Story “I want my money back, money back, money back, money back” — the casual dining franchise requires hefty startup costs, but does it have a strong potential for ROI? ## Company Overview Chili’s is a casual dining franchise, owned and operated by Brinker International, that serves a variety of appetizers, chicken, beef and seafood entrees, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, barbecue ribs, as well as other Southwestern and Mexican-style cuisine such as flatbreads, shrimp tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, desserts and beverages. It competes against other casual dining franchises like Applebee’s, T.G.I. Friday’s and Friendly’s. The chain was founded in 1975 by Larry Lavine in Dallas, Texas, where it is headquartered. Lavine aimed to create an informal, full-service dining restaurant with a menu featuring different types of hamburgers offered at an affordable price. The brand proved successful. By the early 1980s, there were 28 Chili's locations in the region, all featuring similar Southwest decor. In 1983, Lavine sold the company to restaurant executive Norman E. Brinker, formerly of the Pillsbury restaurant group that owned Bennigan's. In 1984, Chili’s started franchising. By the end of the ‘90s, Chili’s had over 200 locations. In 2004, the franchise opened its 1,000th location. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting casual dining more than any other sector, Chili’s saw a major dip in sales. The company even pulled away from traditional advertising for three years, which the brand says hurt consumer awareness significantly. Chili’s has also seen a steady, year-over-year decline in total open units since 2018, according to Franchise Times. Today, the Chili’s brand has over 1,600 stores in the U.S. and around the world. Brinker International also owns Maggiano’s Little Italy and two virtual brands — It's Just Wings™ and Maggiano’s Italian Classics™. ## Franchise Options There are two kinds of restaurant formats you can choose from as a Chili’s franchisee: - Chili’s Grill & Bar - Chili’s Special Venue Currently, Chili’s is only looking for franchise partners who are interested in multi-restaurant airport development and meet the following qualifications: - Minimum five years experience in casual dining (or fast casual) as an owner/operator - Minimum five restaurants owned - Minimum fixed-charge coverage of 1.35x on a unit-level basis - Maximum debt to cash flow less than or equal to 8.0x - Minimum total equity greater than or equal to 20% - Minimum net worth greater than or equal to $500K per acquired restaurant - Minimum liquidity greater than or equal to $400K per restaurant to be developed (i.e. cash reserves) - An infrastructure dedicated to the development of our brand - Local knowledge and expertise in the areas of consumer preferences, real estate, government regulations, labor and distribution issues - Access to adequate capital, such that losses are sustainable for a two- to three-year period while continuing to develop additional units - Philosophically aligned ## Financial Performance According to Item 19 of the FDD, the average and median gross sales for 279 franchised Chili’s restaurants were as follows for the calendar year of 2019: - Average Gross Sales: $2,531,000 - Median Gross Sales: $2,337,000 The average and median gross sales for 917 company-owned Chili’s restaurants were as follows for the calendar year of 2019: - Average Reported Net Sales: $2,852,000 - Median Reported Net Sales: $2,802,000 According to Chili’s Item 7, here’s the full breakdown of costs per restaurant format: Chili’s Grill & Bar — Startup costs Chili’s Special Venue — Startup Costs The initial franchise fee is $40,000 to $60,000. - Kevin Hochman — Chief Executive Officer and President, Brinker International, Inc. and President of Chili’s® Grill & Bar *Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on this site constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction. All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the article constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the email constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content in this article before making any decisions based on such information or other content. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - General (sector) - franchise costs (topic) - Chili's (company) - casual dining (topic) - restaurant franchise (topic) - Brinker International (company) - Kevin Hochman (person) - Larry Lavine (person) - Norman E. Brinker (person) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-chilis-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2722559). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/895c231f-371d-46d6-8d0f-942d95371b41).