Financing

Chili's shoots past 2019 sales levels, but Maggiano's lags

Comps for both brands were helped by the It's Just Wings virtual concept, but off-premise business slipped overall.
Photograph: Shutterstock

Chili’s same-store sales for the fourth quarter ended June 30th topped the pre-pandemic benchmark of two years earlier by 8.5%, buoyed by the chain’s It’s Just Wings virtual brand, parent company Brinker International revealed Wednesday morning.

But same-restaurant sales for sister concept Maggiano’s Little Italy were more sluggish, leaping 147.9% above last year’s pandemic-depressed level but still falling 17.5% short of the 2019 watermark.

Overall, Brinker reported a net income for the quarter of $75 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $49.2 million. Revenues soared by 79.2%, to $990.9 million.

The company updated its guidance for fiscal 2022, with management projecting mid-single-digit increases in labor and food costs.

Brinker finished Q4 with 1,648 company-run or franchised restaurants.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners