Chili's Got Its Name For An Unbelievably Simple Reason

Because of the iconic red and green logo, you might think Chili's got its name from a chile pepper, but the inspiration came from another spicy source: a literal bowl of chili. Founder Larry Lavine spent time at chili cook-offs down in Terlingua, Texas, an event co-founded by his father-in-law, Carroll Shelby, the famous race car driver and automotive designer. Lavine soaked up the laidback atmosphere, noticing how much people enjoyed the combination of the simple dish that followed the unbreakable Texas chili rules and a cold beer. 

He recognized this combination as a truly Texan way to unwind and decided to bring that same casual, fun feeling into a restaurant people could visit anytime. The name "Chili's" popped up because it was short, easy to remember, and homemade chili was meant to be the star of the menu. The founders figured the name itself would get people talking.

The first Chili's swung open its doors on March 13, 1975. It was located in Dallas, Texas, in a former post office building on Greenville Avenue. The starting menu was kept deliberately small, focusing on items like chili, burgers (like the classic Oldtimer), soft tacos, and french fries. To drink, the restaurant served frozen margaritas, sangria, and plenty of beer. Lavine's priority was to create a restaurant that served delicious and affordable food in a comfortable and lively atmosphere, which was a nod to those Terlingua cook-offs.

The rise, fall, and resurrection of Chili's has had a lot to do with the menu. Lavine's simple menu didn't stay small for too long, as Chili's grew quite a bit over the years, especially after Norman Brinker bought the 23-location chain back in 1983. Two particularly important items joined the menu after that: Sizzling, savory fajitas made their debut in 1984, followed by baby back ribs (cue the jingle) in 1986. Through the next couple of decades, the menu kept growing to include around 125 distinct items, including salads, quesadillas, steaks, pasta, chicken sandwiches, desserts, and a bunch of appetizers.

Since the menu was massive and causing both service and quality issues, the company decided on a major shift in 2017 and trimmed the menu down by around 40%. This meant removing close to 50 different dishes, bringing the total count to a more manageable 75 items. The move was designed to sharpen the focus on food quality, get meals out to tables faster, and put the spotlight back onto the core crowd-pleasers. 

Under the umbrella of Brinker International, Chili's pushed outward mostly across the United States and eventually onto the global stage, where you can now find these restaurants throughout Central and South America, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia. Chili's has over 1,600 locations across the U.S. and around the world.