• Value meals at Chili's have boosted the restaurant chain's sales lately.
  • Chili's chief marketing officer says the deals aren't leaving the menu anytime soon.
  • Competitors like McDonald's and Wendy's also offer value meals amid inflation challenges.

Appetizers and value meals are bringing customers to their local Chili's Grill & Bar in droves — and they're not leaving the menu anytime soon.

Deals like the Triple Dipper and the 3 for Me combo, both of which allow customers to get sit-down meals for under $20, have helped Chili's parent company, Brinker International, beat quarterly expectations recently. Same-store sales grew nearly 15% at Chili's during the company's latest quarter, which ended in September.

Those affordable deals are standing parts of the restaurant's menu, not temporary offers, George Felix, chief marketing officer at Chili's, said.

While some restaurant chains are "scrambling to throw a low-priced offer out there and try and compete," the 3 for Me deal "is something we believe in," Felix told Business Insider.

3 for Me offers diners a starter, an entrée, and a drink for as little as $10.99. Chili's has offered the combo for about two years, and it added a smash burger as an entrée option in April — a move the company said took "aim at fast food" at the time.

Other restaurant chains have ramped up deals this year to attract customers, including many whose budgets have been stretched by inflation, back to their dining rooms. McDonald's, for instance, is planning to launch a new value menu in 2025 after extending a limited-time $5 meal this year. Burger King and Wendy's have also offered their own value meals.

Meanwhile, Red Lobster discontinued its $20 endless shrimp deal, which was meant to be a permanent menu item, and ultimately blamed the promotion for an $11 million loss in Q3 2023.

For Chili's, offering food options that range from less than $11 to over $30 allows diners to choose what sort of experience they have, Felix said.

"We believe value is not about the lowest price point," Felix said. "We believe value is what you get for what you pay."

The Triple Dipper is an appetizer sampler that's been having a viral moment on social media recently.

Many Chili's customers who come in for such deals return and order higher-priced items, such as a margarita, which can cost as much — or more — than some of Chili's value meals, Felix said.

"You bring them in with the Triple Dipper, but then they come back again and it's the Don Julio margarita — they treat themselves," Felix told BI. (That margarita cost $12 when ordered for pickup in New York on Tuesday.)

It shows that even diners looking for good deals will splurge, CEO Kevin Hochman said on Chili's October earnings call. "The price-quality equation is critical for this guest," Hochman said.

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