Chili’s Grill & Bar
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.8M – $6.5M including a $60K franchise fee, 1.3% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 67/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -41.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Chili’s Grill & Bar unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
3%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Chili's franchisees operate casual-dining restaurants serving American grill fare (burgers, ribs, Tex-Mex), managing kitchen, front-of-house, and delivery/takeout operations. Day-to-day responsibilities include staff scheduling, food cost control, customer service, menu compliance, and local marketing within a standardized brand template. Franchisees also manage the financial and reputational risk of operating under a parent company currently defending multi-state data breach litigation.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Chili's presents moderate-to-high risk: declining unit base, unresolved multi-plaintiff data breach litigation, zero financial transparency (no Item 19), unprotected territory, and high capital requirements with no disclosed profit benchmarks.
Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.0% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or operational challenges
- 02HIGHMajor data breach litigation ('In re: Brinker Data Incident Litigation') with four consolidated class actions creates reputational and financial liability exposure for franchisees
- 03MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19 missing) prevents prospective franchisees from validating ROI assumptions on $1.8M–$6.5M investment
- 04HIGHHigh investment range ($1.8M–$6.5M) with low franchise fee ($60K) suggests capital-intensive operations and thin margins relative to system-wide litigation risk
- 05MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to direct multi-unit competition and encroachment by corporate or other franchisees
- 06MINOR20-year term locks franchisees into long commitment during period of brand contraction and data breach fallout
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
10 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Chili’s Grill & Bar · FDD (2023) PDF