Food Service Assessment
R ESTAURANT : C HILI ’ S
Jana Wolff
NTR 313
FA 2013
Jana Wolff
NTR 313
FA 2013
Executive Summary
Chili’s is a casual dining franchise of Brinker International, with over 3000 locations
worldwide. The mission of Chili’s states, “We believe in celebrating the differences that make a good
company great and in leveraging individual strengths to create an innovative, inclusive and unified
team.” The Colonie, NY Chili’s is a cohesive, well rounded food service system. It has been
operating for 12 years, maintains 60 employees and serves mainly families. The budget for the
Colonie store is 62% of sales, making the annual budget around $2,015,000. Marketing plays a large
role in gaining customers and loyalty to increase this profit. There is very little waste, the quality of
food is reliable and safety is a priority, as this Chili’s is HACCP compliant. The facility design,
established by corporate, is efficient. Budgetary expenses are computerized by Menu Link, a
proficient forecasting tool that links POS to inventory. Nutritional information and accommodations
are regularly available to customers. Additionally, staff are well trained and act as a unified team (a
key component in the Mission). Conversely, what you gain in safety and consistency, you lose in
innovation and individual creativity. Chili’s may perhaps consider offering exclusive dinner specials,
posting pictures of patrons that visit regularly, offering celebration specials, or purchasing local
produce. Other recommendations include tapping into the catering market (e.g. Sunday football
parties, office events), which is currently available, yet underutilized. Lastly, create an alternative
stocking plan for signature brand items with limited availability. Although the backing of a large
corporation detracts from the portion of Chili’s Mission to “leverage individual strengths,” it
behooves Chili’s to have the peace of mind of financial security from Brinker International. This
security and consistency ultimately allows for a successful business model in every location.
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Chili’s is a casual dining restaurant franchise of Brinker International, with over 3000
locations worldwide. The Chili’s franchise began in 1975 when Larry Lavine opened the first
restaurant after a chili cook-off in Terlingua, Texas. By the early 1980’s, Chili’s had 23
locations, all of which Norman Brinker acquired to create Brinker International, the chain of
Chili’s restaurants we know today. Brinker International stands at the top of the organizational
chart, with Pepper Dining and Olympus Partners beneath. There are Regional Vice Presidents
responsible for over 600 establishments, directly supervising 8 Regional Directors. Each
Regional Director oversees Area Directors who are each responsible for 6 to 8 stores. Within
each store there is a General Manager, 3 to 5 Assistant Managers and a Bar Manager.
The mission of Chili’s states, “We believe in celebrating the differences that make a good
company great and in leveraging individual strengths to create an innovative, inclusive and
unified team.” As a Mission, this more so describes the philosophy and motto of its parent
company, Brinker International. The ever changing slogan of Chili’s, which better illustrates its
goals at the franchise level, reads, “More Life Happens Here”. This implies that Chili’s provides
a fun atmosphere for families and friends to gather and make memories. As a consumer it is clear
from commercial advertising that this slogan is a key focus, with family and celebration centered
images, however, as a patron in a physical Chili’s restaurant it is not noticeably emphasized by
staff. It is worth noting however, that the core demographic comprises of families which aligns
with the slogan.
The Wolf Rd, Colonie, NY location has been operating for 12 years as a Chili’s, before
which its land served as a cranberry bog. Current clientele demographics include families, ages
24-55, with a mean age of 40, and few teenagers or seniors. The average number of patrons
served per weekday is 450 and per weekend day is 1000. Since the budget is based on sales, and
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differs between stores, this customer base is essential. The budget for the Colonie store is 62% of
sales, pre-salary and other fixed costs, with yearly sales at about $3,250,000, making the annual
budget around $2,015,000.
Marketing plays a large role in increasing loyalty, gaining customers and staying true to
the slogan. The menu embodies the principle of marketing, which is an organizational function
that influences promotional activities in a food services system, directed at satisfying the needs
and wants to customers.1 Each quarter, bright glossy inserts with large, colorful photos are
rotated into and out of the menu to ultimately influence and/or satisfy the desire of the customer.
New items are regularly piloted in each location, tested for likeability and rolled out corporately
with heavy use of promotion to increase customer awareness. Additionally, the corporate website
markets all social responsibility initiatives, such as the partnership with St. Jude’s Children’s
Research Hospital, to whom Chili’s made a 10 year, $50 million commitment. Several Facebook
pages are also used on a corporate and local level to market new items, coupons, local events,
and other social responsibility initiatives (e.g. Feeding America and Toys for Tots donations).
Finally, dietary needs have recently been taken into consideration. Calorie counts have been
added to all menus and alternative menus such as gluten free or dairy free are now offered. This
is all used to benefit the customer and the bottom line.
The Wolf Rd., Colonie, NY Chili’s maintains a staff of 60 employees and is lead by 3
Assistant Managers, including Dave Wolff-Pellingra, the Assistant Manager interviewed. Mr.
Wolff-Pellingra has been employed with Chili’s for 8 years with 12+ years restaurant
management experience. As the Assistant Manager, he attempts to include employees in creative
decision making, but because corporate policies are stringent in ensuring consistency among the
franchise, it is difficult to create a unique, personalized environment, ultimately detracting from
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the company’s mission. Yet, Mr. Wolff-Pellingra engages employees by gathering ideas on local
events and strategies to boost sales. For instance, a trivia night was lead in the Colonie store and
employees were involved in sales contests and activities of the like. This in turn made the
environment more lively and friendly, driving behaviors to align more with the mission and
slogan of the company.
The personnel and leadership not only form the culture of each restaurant, but are
responsible for producing a consistent product while meeting Brinker International corporate
standards. In addition to managers remaining in constant communication with corporate
authorities, a number of measures in place allow employees to understand and meet corporate
standards. Initial trainings are essential in keeping employees up to date with company policies.
A Trainer Captain in each store is responsible for training new employees during a five day
period and a 90 minute Orientation. At this time, new employees learn about corporate policies,
the goals of the organization, and how they can meet those goals, along with test questions. Each
employee has a formal, written job description, which is reviewed during Orientation, and
includes their title, primary objective, essential functions, and non-essential functions. In
addition to initial trainings, management meets with employees if there is a policy or menu
change and a semi-annual performance evaluation is conducted with each employee. Regular
employee meetings are rare though, due to scheduling conflicts. On the whole, Chili’s employees
act as a unified team, a key element of the mission.
Facility design and physical layout are both central functions to a restaurant operation
such as Chili’s. Both were developed by Pepper Dining, the franchise’s facility director. It is
evident that the design heavily considers work flow and traffic flow. In the dining room the clean
lines and efficient use of space makes the layout easy to move through and navigate. The bar,
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dining room and to-go window are all separated by walls, spaced appropriately, and have close
built-in refrigeration and storage areas, making it easy for servers to stay close to their respective
areas with little to no crossover. Ceilings are high with large vents, and scattered with brushed
industrial steel fixtures, giving off low, comfortable lighting. Some other intentional design
considerations are the location, across from Colonie Center Mall, to draw in patrons, as well as a
large parking lot.
In the kitchen, the floors are lined with quarry tiles and rubber mats, and dotted with
sloped drains for safety and cleanliness. The lighting and temperature are both comfortable.
Kitchen equipment is also decided and purchased by Pepper Dining. This is considered a
centralized purchasing system, as the responsibility of obtaining needed supplies and equipment
for the organization fall on a purchasing department rather than a Chili’s manager.1 Most
equipment is modular and fits together, saving space in the kitchen. Some pieces are on wheels,
making them clean-out-of-place and some are intact, or clean-in-place. The main cooking area
which includes LG Griddles, a CTX Impinger (full conveyor belt oven) for fast heating, 4 fryers,
induction top range, salad crisper, work tables and other equipment is in close proximity for ease
and arranged in a U-shape. There is a large open space that connects the cook with the Quality
Assurance employee, who checks all orders before they are delivered to the customer. The
vegetable preparation area is arranged in a straight line and located near the upright refrigerated
cooler and freezer storage unit, adjacent to the main cooking area, making it efficient, however,
the steamers and smoker are around the corner. This is due to limited space near the main
cooking area. Preventive maintenance and replacements of equipment are managed by Pepper
Dining which saves the individual store time and money. Storage areas are well ventilated, with
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all product at least 6 inches above the ground. Furthermore, they are conveniently located close
to the delivery entrance for receiving.
Receiving is located in the back of the restaurant and is secure with two locked doors
forming a cage. Brinker Policy states that only one door may be opened at any given time,
however, it is not automatic so it is up to the employee to secure the location. This area feeds
directly into the kitchen where the walk-in fridge and cooler for beer and wine are just a few feet
away. Since specs are developed by Brinker International, employees don’t receive them, but are
trained to know what to expect during a delivery. Most product received is boxed and taped with
the weight and price displayed so deliveries are not opened, weighed or inspected immediately.
The auto-drop system allows deliveries to occur after business hours and is used regularly for the
convenience of the vendor. During liquor, beer and wine deliveries, pilferage is a concern. The
process of invoice receiving is utilized, which takes additional time to ensure accuracy. Liquor is
kept in the “liquor cage” and beer and wine are kept in a large cooler, both of which only
managers and the bar tender have access. All storage locations are kept neat and orderly, which
is the responsibility of all employees.
This receiving process is made possible not only by the management team, but the
vendors themselves, who maintain a strong relationship with each Chili’s restaurant. Vendors
contracted with Chili’s include Maines Paper & Food Service, Empire Merchants North,
Southern Wine and Spirits, DeCresente and Saratoga Eagle. There is no method of formal or
informal purchasing for Management at the store level because national, non-negotiable, formal
contracts are set between corporate and vendors. The General Manager, Assistant Managers and
Bar Manager do however communicate directly with the vendors and place orders regularly.
Maines, located in Conklin, NY, provides meat, poultry, dairy, produce, dry goods, paper goods
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and cleaning products. Empire Merchants North and Southern Wine and Spirits provide liquor
and wine and have licenses to distribute certain brands. They are the only companies in the
Capital District with this service. DeCresente provides non-Anheuser Busch beer products and
Saratoga Eagle provides all other beer products. Par level purchasing forms, which use past sales
and purchasing history to match present and future sales, are created by Menu Link to allow for
accurate and efficient purchasing.
Menu Link is the computer system that links Aloha, the Point of Sale system, to the
inventory and budget. This system allows for automatic forecasting, predicting the food needs
for a specific period of time.1 This system is new, but will eventually show savings as purchasing
will be more accurate and waste may be avoided. Fiscal responsibilities of management include
comparing current to past spending and previous years’ sales, creating Profit and Loss
Statements, as well as determining the budget through trends and regularly calculated food and
labor costs. Labor costs are calculated per meal and shift and compared to a projected cost. Labor
costs are higher on the weekends since more servers are needed, but high weekend sales mitigate
this expenditure. There is an overtime policy, yet overtime rarely occurs and is discouraged.
All food stocked and served at Chili’s is accounted for in various ways. Menu Link
serves as a tool for calculating a perpetual inventory, the running record of a balance of the
product in stock.1 A physical inventory is also taken twice per month. There are little to no
excess food leftovers as everything is prepped or made to order. Menu Link marks trends at key
times of the day, automatically alerting workers to prepare certain items at those times. For
instance, if an average of nine pieces of chicken is served at 9:00pm each night, the cook will be
alerted to prepare just that. The biggest waste by volume, not dollar, is French fries. They are the
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only item cooked in bulk and discarded within 15 minutes if not served. Any food that is
prepared incorrectly may be eaten by employees but is still accounted for in Menu Link.
Portion control procedures are set for all food items; vegetables are in small bags, ladles
are required for salsa and jiggers are provided for alcohol, to name a few. Also, picture line
builds, available in many areas of the kitchen, display ingredient amounts and instructions for
preparing every single menu item. These standards assure that customers receive consistent food
portions, but quality is also a concern. Standardized recipes are distributed and required by
Brinker International to achieve the desired quality in each meal. Managers are required to
perform twice daily line checks, spot checking every single item before distributing to
customers. Finally, a Quality Assurance employee is tasked with comparing orders inputted with
actual meals prepared and determines whether the meals are satisfactory before delivery. This
employee is the liaison between the front and the back of the house and is essential to achieving
the quality standards demanded by Brinker International.
Quality is not only assured through taste, presentation and accuracy, but also through
unfailing safety and cleanliness. Chili’s is inspected by Ecosure, a private company employed
through corporate, once per quarter, to prepare for County Health Inspections performed twice
per year. Chili’s has maintained an Excellent Rating for many years due to the attentiveness of
its staff and management. Mr. Wolff-Pellingra is ServeSafe certified, along with all managers
and some cooks. Chili’s also has an in-house inspector from Brinker International called REF,
who visits about three times per year to be certain each franchise is complying with franchise
standards. Chili’s has adopted HACCP principles. Critical control points are posted in many
areas of the kitchen, employees know critical control points, effective record keeping systems are
established (cold storage temperatures are checked and recorded twice per day), and corrective
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action is taken if critical limits are exceeded.1 Additional measures taken to guarantee cleanliness
and safety are daily cleaning of the fryers with Magnisol, wheels on all storage racks and most
equipment for ease of cleaning, well ventilated storage areas, trained staff on food allergy
responsiveness, emergency plans for loss of power, water, hurricane, snow storms, flood and
bomb threats, and pest control procedures.
Overall, Chili’s is a cohesive, well rounded food service system. There is very little
waste, safety is a priority, the quality of food is consistent, inventory and budgetary expenses are
computerized making forecasting easier, nutritional information and accommodations are
available, and staff are well trained and act as a unified team (a key component in the mission).
Conversely, what you gain in safety and consistency, you lose in creativity and innovation,
which is also a main piece of the mission. There are high expectations to uphold Brinker
International standards, which often translates to a sterile, generic environment that hardly lives
up to its mission or slogan. Unfortunately, there are not many ways to foster a less corporate,
more “home town,” individualized atmosphere within the corporate structure, but one thing they
can do is allow for more creativity. Consider having exclusive dinner specials once per week,
post pictures of patrons that visit regularly, offer birthday, graduation or big celebration specials,
or purchase local, sustainable or seasonal produce. All recommendations for Chili’s are geared
towards Brinker International, as their parent company typically makes these decisions.
Other recommendations include tapping into the catering market (e.g. Sunday football
parties, office events), which is currently available to patrons, yet underutilized. Increasing
customer awareness about this service may improve revenue. There is also limited product
availability for popular, signature brand items such as Southerwestern Eggrolls. These are only
made by the vendors contracted with Brinker International and therefore cannot be purchased
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elsewhere. This poses an issue when the item is out of stock. It may be helpful to have the
ingredients on hand to prepare signature brand items on a local level as to not disrupt customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
Nevertheless, it is a huge benefit to have financial security and peace of mind from a
parent company. Managers don’t have to worry about missing a payment with a vendor or the
cost of repairing a valuable appliance. Even more, customers may be assured that food safety,
consistency, cleanliness and accommodations are priorities at Chili’s. These are the luxuries of
working for a large corporate company. Although it may detract from the overall goal of the
mission and slogan, it enhances its image and allows for a successful business model that can
work in each and every location.
References
1. Payne-Palacio J, Theis M. Foodservice Management. 12th edition. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson; 2012.