5 Changes That Are Likely Coming To Chili's In 2026

Chili's has been experiencing a remarkable resurgence in recent years, and it seems as though the casual dining chain has no plan to stop thriving in 2026. While we were already praising Chili's impressive return to form back in 2024, the chain has continued its long-term rebound, having enjoyed a highly successful 2025 and becoming a favorite of Gen Z diners largely due to its inexpensive food and drinks. However, when companies aim to grow further, they often look for ways to improve the dining experience, whether it's by changing the menu or changing the atmosphere of the restaurants themselves.

For Chili's, 2026 is set to see changes in both these ways. During the most recent earnings call for Brinker International (Chili's parent company) in January 2026, CEO Kevin Hochman revealed a handful of new developments that are set to alter the Chili's experience in the near future. While these changes aren't as major as what was seen following Hochman's hiring in 2022, they will have an impact on how you enjoy the popular restaurant chain moving forward, for better and for worse.

For the many Chili's fans who are primarily interested in the quality of the food on the menu, the restaurant's plans to overhaul its chicken sandwich options are a huge development. Poised to roll out in April 2026, not a lot is known about the "super premium chicken sandwiches" that Hochman spoke about during the earnings call. However, the company's desire to differentiate the new and improved lineup of sandwiches from both other casual restaurants' and older versions of its own menu item was clear.

Beyond the chicken sandwiches' arrival on the menu, April is set to see a massive advertising campaign surrounding the new items to give them an early boost. With a strong rollout, Chili's could achieve a major, long-term win if the updated menu items are executed correctly. Despite entering the chicken sandwich wars years after it was at its height, Chili's executives understand that the chicken sandwich is an undeniable juggernaut in the food world. A quality selection of chicken sandwiches can be the deciding factor for many consumers when choosing where to go out to eat, so they need to stand out from what other restaurants already offer.

When talking about the upcoming Chili's chicken sandwiches, one thing that was emphasized was the idea that different versions of the entree will come at different prices, furthering the chain's use of a tiered menu system. This methodology has become popular since Chili's 3 for Me began picking up steam after its arrival in 2022, and is likely to continue as a foundational aspect of Chili's marketing moving forward.

Similar to the 2025 Chicago Bears, Chili's appears to have adopted the motto of "Good, Better, Best" for its tiered pricing system, which has been incredibly effective for the resurging company. When it comes to the 3 for Me, the $10.99 option is an incredible value for consumers, but the additional two tiers ($14.99 and $16.99) allow for slightly more luxurious entrees and drink options for those willing to spend a little bit more. Unsurprisingly, Chili's executives intend to continue using this tiered pricing system for many of its menu items, giving consumers strong options at each price point.

While many casual dining chains pride themselves on providing new and interesting limited time-only items to their consumers each year, Chili's has decided to take a different approach in 2026. The chain has expressed its intention to limit the amount of novel items it produces this year, instead sticking to new items that will remain on the Chili's menu long-term. Speaking about this in the January 2026 earnings call, Hochman explained, "One of the keys to our success has been staying disciplined on food innovation, which means avoiding launching food limited time offerings. This allows us to focus our efforts to improve our core offerings, simplify operations, and keep field leader attention on ops fundamentals like hospitality and great food."

This decision to avoid LTO items isn't necessarily a catch-all commitment. The Margaritas of the Month, for example, are a major selling point of dining at Chili's and they seem to be staying. However, after years of being one of the chain restaurants with the most oversized menus, Chili's choice to be more calculated with what items are on the docket and for how long has proven to be successful in recent years, so an increased commitment to that is no shocker.

Another instance of Chili's being well-calculated about its growth: The chain is poised to open up very few new restaurants throughout 2026, as unit growth is not an immediate priority for the restaurant chain. This isn't particularly surprising, as Chili's has over 1,200 locations across every state in America besides Oregon, but it comes with the caveat that the chain plans to improve it's presence in the coming years. In fact, the primary reason 2026 won't see new locations is due to a lack of preparation to do so in the past. "You're not going to see that much of a bump because, remember, it's an 18-to-24-month cycle. So, that's from two years ago, when we weren't really leaning into new units," Mike Ware, the executive vice president and CFO of Brinker International, explained on the earnings call.

Considering Chili's was still going through the process of closing down failing locations back in 2024, it's no surprise the chain wasn't laying the groundwork to start a new unit initiative at the time. However, seeing as hopes of opening new restaurants in the future have been reintroduced quite recently, it's likely that Chili's will start actively adding to its location count around the start of fiscal year 2028, which doesn't begin until October 2027.

While there are no hopes for a major expansion of Chili's in 2026, the same can't be said about some of its restaurants getting reworked. Chili's began its reimaging project in 2025 with four Chili's locations in Dallas getting remodeled to better fit the vibe of what Chili's is going for in the modern era. This year, another 8 to 10 remodels are set to occur by September, when the fiscal year ends. While the question of where the Chili's locations lucky enough to get remodeled will be located is still unanswered, the new design has very specific influences. 

Modeled to be a modern version of the first-ever Chili's location on Greenville Avenue in northeast Dallas, the reimaging has been well-received so far, and CEO Kevin Hochman believes that the redesign has a lot of merit to it. "It literally just makes the whole building feel different," Hochman explained. "And it is distinctly Chili's. I mean you go in and you're like, 'Wow, it feels like I'm back in Chili's when it first started, but in a modern way.'"

Luckily, even if your local Chili's isn't among the ones set to get remodeled in 2026, the plan is to eventually remodel every Chili's location in the United States in the coming years. Looking toward the not-so-distant future, the remodeling initiative is set to get even more aggressive starting in October 2026, with 60 to 80 additional restaurants poised to be remodeled over the following 12 months.