Brinker International, Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Brinker International, Inc.

6820 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75240
U.S.A.

Company Perspectives:

Serving the World a Great Taste of Life--Generosity of Spirit. Brinke r International is a global business, but our heart is rooted in the communities we serve. Serving a great taste of life to the world is a bout great food. It is also about sharing the fruits of our success a nd improving the quality of life of our employees, shareholders, and business partners around the world.

History of Brinker International, Inc.

Brinker International, Inc. operates several popular American restaur ant chains: Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, and Maggiano's Little Italy. The mainstay of the company is Chili's, a chain of more than 1,000 eateri es featuring Southwest decor and inexpensive meals. Under the directi on of Norman E. Brinker, for whom the company was named, the Chili's chain expanded and other theme restaurants were added. To stay near t he top of the increasingly competitive casual-dining niche, Brinker h as tweaked both concept and strategy.

1975: The Birth of the Chili's Concept

Brinker traces its origins to the first Chili's Grill & Bar, open ed on Greenville Street in Dallas in March 1975. Chili's was establis hed by Dallas restaurateur Larry Levine, who sought to provide an inf ormal full-service dining atmosphere with a menu that focused on diff erent varieties of hamburgers offered at reasonable prices. Levine's concept proved successful, and 22 more Chili's restaurants, featuring similar Southwest decor, were opened in the late 1970s and early 198 0s. In 1983, Levine's restaurant chain was taken over by Norman E. Br inker.

Brinker had a long and illustrious history in the restaurant business . He had begun his career in 1957 working for the Jack-in-the-Box fas t-food chain, which then had just seven outlets. Nine years later, Br inker left the greatly expanded Jack-in-the-Box operation to found St eak & Ale, an informal, full-service restaurant chain with a menu that emphasized inexpensive steak dinners and friendly service. Resp onsible for introducing the salad bar, an innovation that soon swept the restaurant industry, this new, casual dining concept became a fav orite among the baby boomer generation.

By the 1970s, Brinker's nearly 200 restaurants, including the Steak & amp; Ale and Bennigan's chains, were overseen by his S&A Restaura nt Corporation. When S&A was sold to the Pillsbury Company in 197 6, Brinker became an executive at Pillsbury, in charge of that compan y's restaurant group, which now had four chains, including Burger Kin g and Pillsbury's Poppin' Fresh Restaurants. Together, the operations of this group represented the second largest restaurant company in t he world.

By 1983, however, Brinker had decided to leave Pillsbury to strike ou t again on his own. "I wanted to see if I could take a very small com pany and develop it against the big chains," Brinker recalled in a 19 92 article in Food & Service magazine. Toward this end, Br inker purchased a significant share in the Chili's chain, becoming it s chairperson and chief executive officer. At this time, Chili's had less than $1 million in equity, was $8.5 million in debt, and was earning less than $1 million a year. Planning to expand, Bri nker took Chili's public in 1984, selling stock under the ticker symb ol EAT. On the basis of Brinker's strong reputation in the restaurant industry, Chili's stock offering received strong support from the in vestment community.

Franchise Expansion in the 1980s

In 1984, Chili's 23 restaurants were generating $40 million in sa les from their menu of gourmet burgers, french fries, and margaritas. To improve the chain's profitability and thereby allow for expansion , Brinker began the process of fine-tuning Chili's operations. Seekin g input from Chili's customers, as well as from customers of competin g restaurants, Brinker made a practice of strolling around the parkin g lots of eating establishments, informally asking customers how they liked their meals and what changes they would like made. On the basi s of this feedback, he began to shift the focus of Chili's menu away from burgers to include a broader array of salads and chicken and fis h entrees.

Throughout the mid-1980s, Brinker and his associates expanded Chili's steadily, opening new restaurants across the country and further ada pting the eatery's offerings. By the end of the decade, burgers accou nted for just 10 percent of the company's sales, as new items, such a s ribs and fajitas, proved more popular. The company counted on its l oyal customers, dubbed "chiliheads," to keep revenues high, while als o striving to maintain its rapid rate of customer turnover; the avera ge length of time a customer spent in a Chili's restaurant was just 3 5 minutes, which allowed for more profitable and efficient use of spa ce and wait staff.

By the late 1980s, the company was ready to branch out into new resta urants and began to consider several different acquisitions. A plan t o attempt regaining control of Brinker's former S&A Restaurant Co rporation was vetoed, as was an idea to take on several fast-food cha ins, such as Taco Cabana and Flyer's Island Express. Chili's eventual ly decided to focus on the casual, low-priced restaurant niche, in wh ich it was already a strong player. In February 1989, the company pur chased Grady's Goodtimes, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based restaurant cha in owned by a family named Regas, who had been in the restaurant busi ness in Tennessee since 1919. In 1982, the Regas family had opened th e first of its Grady's Goodtimes outlets, which served primarily beef , seafood, salads, and sandwiches.

Since the Dallas restaurant market already had a chain called Grady's , Chili's executives decided to call their new chain "Regas." This ne w name eventually proved unsuccessful, however, as some customers exp ressed confusion over its pronunciation and others associated it with "regal," leading them to suspect that it was an expensive restaurant . Moreover, Regas faced tough competition from established steakhouse chains in Texas. As a result, Chili's faced unexpected difficulties in expanding the acquisition.

Nine months after purchasing Regas, Chili's acquired another restaura nt concept, which it also planned to expand into a chain. With $4 1 million in capital obtained through a stock sale, Chili's purchased the rights to the Romano's Macaroni Grill concept. Texas restaurateu r Phil Romano had opened the prototype restaurant in 1988 in a locati on north of San Antonio, Texas. He based the eatery's atmosphere and menu on the communal style of dining that he remembered from growing up in an Italian family. Just as his grandfather had always kept a fo ur-liter jug of wine on the dinner table, patrons in Romano's restaur ant were provided with casks of house red wine. Customers were invite d to serve themselves throughout the meal and then to inform their wa iter of how much they had consumed; the waiter would then charge them accordingly. This "honor system" for wine was modified in areas wher e liquor laws forbade patrons to serve themselves, but on the whole, it helped to keep sales high at Romano's.

Other innovations at Romano's restaurants included glass walls throug h which patrons could see kitchen workers creating the evening's meal s. The unique interior design of Romano's created a cavernous effect, with strings of bare light bulbs illuminating high, wooden, vaulted ceilings and tables placed between fieldstone arches. Daily specials were displayed in deli cases near the restaurant's front door, and cr ates of wine and canned tomato products were hung on the walls, servi ng as decoration and storage space.

Chili's planned for Romano's to compete with the extremely successful Olive Garden chain of Italian restaurants owned by General Mills. Ra pid expansion of Romano's and Regas was anticipated, and Brinker set a goal for the Chili's company to earn annual revenues of $1 bill ion by 1995. Brinker planned to pattern the growth of the new acquisi tions after the Chili's chain expansion. In just seven years under Br inker's leadership, Chili's had grown to include 215 restaurants; alt hough a large percentage of these were directly owned by the company, a franchising program also had proved useful in opening new restaura nts.

The Early 1990s: New Challenges

To help Romano's and Regas achieve similar growth, Brinker decided to keep the identities and priorities, even the administration, of its three restaurant chains distinct. Each restaurant was designed to app eal to a middle-class customer, between the ages of 25 and 55, and pr ices were kept reasonable: the average bill for a Chili's customer wa s $7.50; the average for a Regas customer was $9.50; and at R omano's, a slightly more upscale property, average bills per customer were $13.50. By the end of 1990, Chili's was operating 240 Chili 's outlets, 14 Regas Grill restaurants, and three Romano's Macaroni G rill eateries. Together, these operations reported $438 million i n revenues.

In May 1991, Chili's announced that it was changing its corporate nam e, to better reflect the newly diversified nature of its operations. The company's name became Brinker International, Inc., and Brinker to ld the Dallas Morning News that "this new name is a way to bri dge our past with our future as a multi-concept corporation in the mi dst of international expansion." The first foreign countries targeted for Chili's operations were Canada and Mexico, where the company pla nned for restaurants to open in 1992.

Again, Brinker undertook extensive market research to adapt restauran t offerings to suit customer preferences. As U.S. demographic studies and customer feedback began to suggest that the average age of a Chi li's customer had increased, the restaurant took steps to make itself more appealing to this segment of the public. The volume of music pl ayed over restaurant loudspeakers was lowered, the size of the print on Chili's menus was enlarged, sizes of some portions were reduced, a nd more low-fat entrees were added. At the same time, the company pro moted Chili's as a friendly place for younger couples with children, providing fast and efficient service and low prices. "You have to sta y in the energetic group of customers, but you try to tone it down en ough so that you don't turn off the older group," Brinker explained t o Food & Service magazine.

To keep the company's operations as efficient and cost-effective as p ossible, Brinker also invested in an elaborate computer system. Compu ters were used to schedule workers' shifts and to help company headqu arters determine the amount of supplies each restaurant needed. In ad dition, Brinker invested in extensive kitchen staff training programs , which were designed to minimize waste in company operations.

By the end of 1991, Brinker's had sales totaling $426.8 million a nd earnings of $26.1 million, a 44 percent increase over the prev ious year. Already operating a total of 271 restaurants by the spring of 1992, Brinker was opening one new restaurant a week, as the compa ny chalked up a 23 percent rate of growth in sales, despite a general recession in the restaurant industry. Many of the Chili's restaurant s opened in early 1992 showed a higher rate of sales than older prope rties, reflecting the company's growing expertise in the industry. Mo reover, Brinker established Chili's restaurants in less populous area s, reflecting the widespread popularity of the Chili's concept.

Despite these strong signs of continuing financial health, Brinker ex ecutives estimated that the market for its Chili's chains would matur e by the late 1990s. To take the pressure off the Chili's concept, an d lessen the number of new restaurant openings needed to maintain bri sk growth in corporate profits, Brinker looked for expansion in its n ewer properties.

By mid-1992, Brinker had opened 17 Regas restaurants, and, in respons e to the problems surrounding the chain's name, he had rechristened a ll of these outlets as Grady's American Grill. The company continued to experiment with different formats for the eatery, redesigning its interiors as more casual and being careful to distinguish Grady's fro m Chili's. As part of this effort, Grady's menu was centered on beef, seafood, and pasta, rather than the Mexican-based entrees that had b ecome popular at Chili's.

Brinker also looked to Romano's to bolster corporate earnings. By May 1992, eight of these restaurants were in operation, each contributin g about $3 million a year in sales, up from $2.4 million the year before. A Romano's restaurant cost no more to build than a Chili 's and brought in revenues that were twice as high, since its menu fe atured higher-priced items, and Brinker planned to nearly triple the number of Romano eateries over the next 12 months. The company's stra tegy was to enter as many markets as soon as possible, reap the rewar ds of novelty in areas without moderately priced Italian eateries, an d then decide on which markets could support two or more Romano's out lets.

The success of Romano's prompted Brinker to test a second, less expen sive Italian eatery concept, also developed by restaurateur Phil Roma no. In July 1992, Spageddies, a low-priced, casual pasta restaurant, was opened at a test location in Plano, Texas. The prototype restaura nt seated 216 patrons, had a decor featuring bright colors, decorativ e canned goods, and colorful billboards, and included two bocce ball courts to keep customers amused while they waited for seats. As in Ro mano's restaurants, exhibition kitchens at Spageddies allowed patrons to watch their food being prepared. With the two chains, Brinker hop ed to flank its competitor Olive Garden, with Spageddies engaging a s lightly less expensive niche and Romano's occupying a more costly seg ment of the market.

At the end of June 1992, Brinker posted annual revenues of $519.3 million, with earnings of $26.1 million; 300 Chili's Grill & Bars, 20 Grady's American Grills, and 17 Romano's outlets were in op eration. Later that year, Brinker announced plans for further foreign expansion, signing an agreement with Pac-Am Food Concepts, based in Hong Kong, to franchise 25 Chili's restaurants in the Far East over t he next 15 years. Pac-Am planned to duplicate the Chili's decor and m enu in locations such as Jakarta, Indonesia, and Seoul, South Korea, with some changes to satisfy local tastes.

Brinker also began to test another theme restaurant, Kona Ranch Steak house, in Oklahoma City. A small Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio, c alled Nacho Mama's, also was considered a possible avenue for expansi on, although Brinker's executives vowed to change that restaurant's n ame in the event of an acquisition. In the midst of its aggressive pl ans to expand all four of its principal restaurant chains, the compan y encountered an unexpected obstacle on January 21, 1993, when Norman Brinker suffered a serious head injury while playing polo. Brinker w as comatose for two weeks, during which time he was temporarily repla ced at the company by his second in command. Despite an initially unf avorable prognosis, Brinker made a rapid recovery and returned to res ume his positions of chairperson and CEO in May 1993.

Shortly thereafter, Brinker International moved to expand its Spagedd ies property, buying out the interest of its partner Romano in the pr ototype Spageddies restaurant and announcing that two more Texas loca tions, in Tyler and Mesquite, would be opened. To provide a corporate structure that would enhance growth in all areas of the company, Bri nker reorganized its headquarters staff into concept teams, which wer e designed to act as small companies within the framework of the larg er corporation. As Brinker approached the mid-1990s, it appeared well positioned for strong growth, enhanced by an experienced management team and a track record of success with a variety of different restau rant concepts.

Restaurant Concepts for the Millennium

The year 1995 was pivotal for Brinker. By mid-decade it had become cl ear that the traditional casual dining concept was losing momentum, w hile other, more specialized niches, in particular Italian and Mexica n cuisine, promised a much larger potential for growth. Observing the success of The Olive Garden, which remained the only major chain of Italian restaurants in the United States, Brinker recognized the need to retool its own Italian concept. In July 1995 the company announce d a strategic partnership with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, a r estaurant developer in the Chicago area. The joint venture enabled Br inker to acquire three of Lettuce's Maggiano's Little Italy restauran ts and five of its Corner Bakeries, in addition to establishing a cre ative development deal between the two companies. Dubbed the "Dream T eam" by executives from both sides, this arrangement brought together two men who were widely considered to be the best creative talents i n the restaurant industry: Brinker's Phil Romano, "an oracle" in the restaurant business, according to the Dallas Morning News, wit h Lettuce's Rich Melman, whom Business Week had called the "An drew Lloyd Weber of the Industry." The two companies agreed to come u p with at least one new concept within the first year, over which Let tuce would retain control. The company also created an Italian Concep ts Division in 1996, naming Gerard Centioli as president.

In the meantime, Brinker also made some strategic changes in its hold ings. In December 1995 the company sold Grady's and Spageddies to Qua lity Dining Inc.; then, in January 1996 it opened its first Eatzi's i n Dallas. Catering to the public's demand for restaurants that also f eatured prepared foods and groceries, Eatzi's was an immediate succes s, earning $12 million in the first year, more than double its pr edicted sales. By November 1997 a second location had opened in Houst on, and a third opened in Atlanta the following February. During this same period, the company set out to modify its Romano's Macaroni Gri ll concept, with the aim of transforming it into a more casual, less expensive restaurant in order to attract a broader clientele. The new Romano's opened in November 1998 and promptly showed increased sales . In March 1999 Romano's debuted in the United Kingdom, the first of a projected 20 restaurants to be established in England through a joi nt venture with Queensborough Holdings PLC of London.

Brinker was equally determined in carving out its niche in the Mexica n cuisine market. In February 1994 it acquired the On the Border rest aurant chain, comprised of 21 units, and in May it opened the first C ozymel's Coastal Mexican Grill. The success of Cozymel's in Texas led to the announcement in May 1995 of the opening of an additional 12 l ocations nationwide. The following March the company embarked on an a ggressive marketing campaign to promote the franchising of On the Bor der, and by early 1997 it announced the opening of two new On the Bor der locations in Columbus, Ohio.

By the end of the decade Brinker had nearly doubled its sales over a five-year period, from $1.2 billion in 1996 to nearly $2.2 bi llion in 2000, and increased its restaurant total to more than 1,000. Although economic indicators suggested a decline in the casual resta urant market in the future, the prognosis for the industry in general remained encouraging, and Brinker's proven talent for adaptation and innovation promised that the company would be able to confront its f uture challenges head on.

CEO Ron McDougall succeeded Norman Brinker as chairman in December 20 00. Concurrently, the company announced plans to purchase the remaini ng interest in Big Bowl from Let Us Entertain You Enterprises while s elling back the Wildfire Steak and Chophouse concept. Six Big Bowl an d three Wildfire units were in operation.

Striving to Keep Them Coming in the Door: 2001-05

In 2001, Brinker bought a 40 percent stake in the seafood restaurant endeavor Rockfish Partnership. Brinker pulled out of the Eatzi's gour met market chain the next year, a move costing more than $10 mill ion. Phil Romano's home-meal replacement concept had inspired imitato rs, but according to Restaurant Business "the brand failed to find widespread acceptance." In September 2002, just four of the stor es remained in operation.

In 2003, Brinker upped its stake in Rockfish, to 43 percent with an a dditional $1.8 million investment. Another $4 million in loan s was earmarked for further development of the Rockfish concept. The small chain grew from ten to 16 locations from 2002 to 2003, accordin g to Restaurant Business.

The unprofitable upscale-Mexican brand Cozymel's went on the sales bl ock in 2003, and Brinker took a $15.1 million asset impairment ch arge. The concept created by Phil Romano, Restaurant Business recalled, was "fashioned loosely after seaside cantinas on the Yucata n." Brinker ended its fiscal year, in June 2003, with $3.3 billio n in revenue and $168.6 million in profit.

Doug H. Brooks, a 26-year veteran of Brinker, was named CEO in Januar y 2004, succeeding Ron A. McDougall, who continued to serve as chairm an. Brooks's task, along with the presidents of each brand, was to ke ep the company relevant in a segment of the market that had become in creasingly competitive and more health conscious. Customers who walke d in their doors, or by them, might be seeking a low-fat or low-carb meal or one large enough to insure the need for a doggy bag.

Chili's, the chain producing in excess of 70 percent of profits in th e early 21st century, had faltered a decade earlier. Brinker's stock fell to $11 per share when customers started going elsewhere. A r evamp revived share price and helped put Brinker into the number two spot in the casual dining industry. Darden Restaurants Inc., parent o f the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, held the top spot. Brinker stock traded around $36 per share in late February 2004.

In addition to tuning into dietary concerns, Brinker tapped into the trend toward increased purchases of takeout meals. Chili's to-go sale s climbed to 10 percent of sales, up from practically nil just a deca de earlier.

As the company worked to keep its profitable Chili's brand fresh, it continued to search for the best recipe for its smaller brands. Corne r Bakery, for example, was changed from a cafeteria format to limited service, to better fit the suburban family's needs.

Another Brinker veteran succeeded Brooks as CEO. Todd Diener joined C hili's in 1981 as a manager trainee. He rose through the ranks and se rved as Chili's president from 1998 to 2003. When he entered his new role, Diener was confident the success of Chili's could be translated to its other concepts. But not all the brands were destined to conti nue under the Brinker banner. In November 2004, the company's "emergi ng brands" executive departed. The smaller concepts would no longer h ave one executive designated to shepherd them along, according to the Dallas Morning News. Big Bowl and Cozymel's both had been sol d during the year and the value of Brinker's Rockfish investment had been written down.

Fiscal 2005 had begun with elevated operating costs and lagging sales . To get back on the right track, Diener was returned to his position as president of Chili's. Other top management changes occurred at Ro mano's Macaroni Grill and Maggiano's Little Italy. A new position was created to head up international growth. Initiatives to improve cust omer satisfaction and employee performance were also implemented.

In August 2005 Brinker disclosed plans to sell Corner Bakery. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, its creator, had bought back Big Bowl in 2004, but did not plan on buying the fast-casual bakery-café c hain, according to Nation's Restaurant News. More than one-thi rd of the 90 Corner Bakery units operated in the Chicago area. Analys ts estimated the sale price to range between $140 million and  6;170 million. Richard Melman, founder and chairman of Lettuce Entert ain You Enterprises, was a Brinker consultant and its single largest shareholder.

In September 2005, Brinker announced plans for international expansio n and the payment of its first quarterly dividend. "The company boost ed its prediction of the 'universe potential' of its four strongest b rands by about 85 percent--to almost 5,000 restaurants. That includes 2,100 outside the United States," the Dallas Morning Star News reported. During fiscal 2006 about 10 percent of its new units woul d be opened in international markets. Brinker hoped to grow its inter national profits from a current 2 percent to 20 percent by 2012. Casu al dining in Latin America and the Middle East had been on an upswing , outstripping the rate of U.S. sales growth.

In October 2005, Brinker announced the sale of Corner Bakery; the dea l was expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year. Chili 's, Romano's Macaroni Grill, On the Border, and the Maggiano's chains remained in the Brinker fold.

Principal Competitors: Applebee's International Inc.; Darden R estaurants, Inc.; Outback Steakhouse, Inc.

Chronology

  • Key Dates:
  • 1975: Larry Levine opens first Chili's Grill & Bar in Dall as, Texas.
  • 1983: Norman Brinker takes over Chili's restaurant chain.
  • 1988: First Romano's Macaroni Grill opens in San Antonio, Texa s.
  • 1991: Chili's is renamed Brinker International, Inc.
  • 1992: Brinker reaches an agreement with Pac-Am Food Concepts t o expand Chili's franchise to the Far East.
  • 1995: Brinker establishes a strategic partnership with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.
  • 2000: Norman Brinker steps down as company chairman.
  • 2005: Company announces international expansion plans.

Additional Details

  • Public Company
  • Incorporated: 1975 as Chili's Grill & Bar, Inc.
  • Employees: 96,600
  • Sales: $3.91 billion (2004)
  • Stock Exchanges: New York
  • Ticker Symbol: EAT
  • NAIC: 533110 Owners and Lessors of Other Nonfinancial Assets; 722110 Full-Service Restaurants

Further Reference

  • Bell, Sally, "Norm!," Food & Service, January, 199 2.
  • Bernstein, Charles, "Brinker's Three-Way Combination: A Bid for F ull-Service Dominance," Nation's Restaurant News, October 29, 1990.
  • Bertagnoli, Lisa, "On-the-Job Training: Brinker's Todd Diener Bui lds on His Chili's Experience to Fine-Tune Emerging Brands," Chain Leader, May 2004, pp. 76+.
  • "Brinker Boosts Stake in Rockfish," Restaurant Business," March 1, 2003, p. 10.
  • "Brinker Dumps Eatzi's Stake ... and Asks Cozymel's Schmille for Aid," Restaurant Business," September 1, 2002, p. 11.
  • "Brinker Gives Up on Cozymel's," Restaurant Business," Sep tember 1, 2003, p. 14.
  • Chaudhry, Rajan, "Ron McDougall's Winning Ways," Restaurants & amp; Institutions, July 1, 1993.
  • Fairbank, Katie, "Eating Profits: Home-Style Restaurants Losing O ut in the Battle for Dining Dollars," Dallas Morning News, Nov ember 5, 2000.
  • Fox, Valerie, and Lisa Y. Taylor, "Chili's Makes 1,000," Dalla s Business Journal, February 11, 2000.
  • Gutner, Toddi, "Norman Brinker Scores Again," Forbes, Janu ary 6, 1992.
  • Hall, Cheryl, "Brinker International Runs on Good Game Plan," Dallas Morning News, February 21, 1993.
  • ------, "The Brinker Touch," Dallas Morning News, May 10, 1992.
  • "I1 Fornaio, Bruckmann Rosser Buy Corner Bakery," Nation's Res taurant Business, October 10, 2005, p. 3.
  • Oppel, Richard A., Jr., "A Return Performance," Dallas Morning News, May 5, 1993.
  • Rigsby, G.G., "Analysts Predict Slowdown in Casual-Dining Earning s," Tampa Bay Business Journal, August 4, 2000.
  • Robinson-Jacobs, Karen, "Brinker Plans to Expand Overseas," Da llas Morning News," September 16, 2005.
  • ------, "Dallas-Based Restaurant Firm Brinker Reports Departure o f Small-Brand Executive," Dallas Morning News, November 30, 20 04.
  • Robinson-Jacobs, Karen, and Victor Godinez, "Restaurant Company B rinker International Looks to Next Growth Concept," Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News, February 22, 2004.
  • Ruggless, Ron, "Brinker Inks Deal for Chili's Units in Asia," Nation's Restaurant News, November 16, 1992.
  • ------, "Brinker to Sell Off Corner Bakery Chain, Renew Focus on Chili's," Nation's Restaurant News, August 29, 2005, pp. 1+.
  • ------, "Norman Brinker Hits the Comeback Trail," Nation's Res taurant News, March 29, 1993.
  • Sherbert, Felicia M., "Beyond Chili's," Market Watch, July /August, 1992.
  • "Stirring the Bowl," Restaurants & Institutions, Decem ber 15, 2000, p. 14.

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