The Triple Dipper proves to be a star dish for Chili's

With the Triple Dipper, customers can choose between three apps and three dipping sauces. | Photo courtesy of Chili's Grill & Bar

Chili's wildly popular triple-dipper appetizer has secured a starring role in the chain's turnaround plans.

Sales of the appetizer, which lets customers combine three apps and three dipping sauces, have increased 70% over the past year after the dish went viral on TikTok.

It played a key role in Chili's 14.1 percent same-store sales growth in the quarter ended Sept. 25, which included a 6 percent increase in foot traffic.

The Triple Dipper now accounts for 11% of Chili's total sales, CEO Kevin Hochman told analysts Wednesday. It is well received by younger customers who like the variety of flavors and dips and are therefore visiting the brand for the first time. The app also offers Chili's the opportunity to increase its average check.

This performance earned the Triple Dipper a spot among the “Core Four” – Chili’s staples that were central to his comeback under Hochman. With the addition of the Triple Dipper, the Core Four – Burgers, Margaritas, Fajitas and Chicken Crispers – are now called the 5 to Drive.

Together, these items account for 58% of Chili's sales. And they've helped the 1,116-unit casual dining chain enjoy a spectacular resurgence over the past two years. Since the start of 2023, the chain has posted quarterly same-store sales growth of 9.6%, 6.3%, 6.1%, 5%, 3.5%, 14.8% and now 14.1%.

This performance is even more impressive considering it came during a difficult time for casual dining chains as consumers changed their spending habits in response to inflation.

(Read more: How a summer of bold marketing fueled a comeback at Chili's.)

This has been driven by operational simplifications that have improved service, as well as a marketing engine that has produced a number of successes, including the $10.99 “3 for Me” menu, the Big Smasher burger and now the triple dipper.

The latter two elements played the biggest role in the chain's 6% traffic increase in the third quarter, executives said.

The chain promoted the Big Smasher with an aggressive TV advertising campaign highlighting the fast food prices. That message has resonated with consumers who are fed up with rising prices and see the $10.99 burger (plus fries and salsa, fries and a drink) as a better value.

The Triple Dipper has now spread across social media, both organically and with support from the chain's digital marketing team. These efforts coincided with the popularity of Chili's Fried Mozzarella, which has seen a number of viral moments in recent months. Fried Mozz and the recently launched Nashville Hot Mozz are both options for the triple dipper.

The increase in traffic caused by these items led Chili's to increase its labor investments over the summer to ensure its restaurants could keep up. Now the chain is considering purchasing more or larger fryers to meet demand for Triple Dippers and Chicken Crispers at high-volume locations.

If Chili's can maintain this recent success, it could have even greater implications for the brand's future, including the possibility of opening new restaurants. That would indeed be big news for a chain that has shrunk in size over the last decade.

Hochman said the company is having discussions about how it might allocate capital differently, including accelerating new construction or renovating existing stores.

For now, “there is no change to the guidance we have given you on new net devices,” he noted. But “the success we've had in this business has certainly opened up additional opportunities for deploying capital.”

However, the chain raised its sales forecast for this year. The company now expects total revenue of $4.7 billion to $4.75 billion, up from the previous estimate of $4.55 billion to $4.62 billion.

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