Chili's parent company Brinker International has big plans to reimagine four of its Dallas-area restaurants in a move expected to set the tone for other upgrades throughout its global chain.
The Dallas-area company behind Chili's and Maggiano's laid out its so-called "modern Greenville project" to reimagine four of its North Texas restaurants by the end of this calendar year, executives told investors Wednesday during its earnings call. The remodels are expected to help inform Brinker International on what resonates with its customers before rolling out what is expected to be a remodel of 10% of its fleet annually beginning in 2027.
"The modern Greenville project objective is to remodel 10% of the fleet annually, which means restaurants are refreshed every 10 years, and we maintain an atmosphere that guests are excited to dine in," said Brinker International CEO and President Kevin Hochman during the call.
"We expect to ramp up reimagine pace in calendar 2026, and our plan is to get to a run rate of 10% by the beginning of calendar 2027," he added. Brinker owns, operates or franchises more than 1,600 Chili's locations in 29 countries and two U.S. territories.
Hochman, who is also stepping up as interim president of Maggiano's, said Brinker recently hired Richard Ingram as vice president of restaurant development to help reimagine Chili's and lead its new restaurant development capacity for both Chili's and Maggiano's.
Ingram has been tasked with upgrading the company's portfolio of restaurants and restart its new restaurant opening program, Hochman said. Ingram previously worked at 7-Eleven, where he most recently oversaw the retailer's real estate portfolio and strategic growth, according to his LinkedIn.
"We are now finished with catching up on repairs and maintenance," Hochman added. "With our improved cash position, we are now switching over to playing offense, which means remodeling and building new restaurants."
Dominique Bertolone left his role as president of Maggiano's on Aug. 7, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Along with Hochman filling in as interim president of the Italian chain with 52 U.S. restaurants, Brinker International also elevated Rich Kitzel to help oversee Maggiano's as chief operating officer. Kitzel previously served as a vice president of regional operations in Florida.
Brinker International did not immediately disclose the four test restaurants in the Dallas area that are expected to be revamped by year's end. It also didn't disclose how many new stores it planned to open beyond looking outside its historical markets in California, Texas and Florida to expand into the northeast U.S. and in the Pacific Northwest.
Ingram is expected to help direct the company's expansion into new markets with the help of analytics on the front end of development.
Hochman said, "Our world-class marketing team set a vision for an exciting new design that is uniquely Chili's, and our construction team is doing a brilliant job of how to cost-effectively bring this to life."