About this episode

Sammi Cohen analyzes the remarkable turnaround of Chili's, highlighting operational changes and marketing strategies that contributed to its success.

Chili's now goes through 65 million pounds of mozzarella a year, up from just 12 million four years ago. The reason traces back to a single TikTok video of a cheese pull that quietly turned a decade-old menu item into one of the biggest comeback stories in restaurant history. Today, Sammi breaks down exactly how Chili's pulled off what one analyst called the best turnaround in restaurant history. She digs into the operational fixes nobody saw coming, from a shrimp-counting ritual that wasted hours of labor every day to a salt shaker redesign that cut seasoning time by more than 80 percent. She also traces how CEO Kevin Hochman, who came from Procter & Gamble and Yum Brands, rebuilt the kitchen experience from the inside out while his marketing team leaned into the viral moment instead of manufacturing one. Then, Sammi unpacks the marketing engine behind the comeback, including the Triple Dipper's rise from a forgotten combo platter to 16 percent of total sales, the launch of Nashville Hot Mozzarella, and nostalgia plays like the Boyz II Men jingle and the Margarita of the Month program. Finally, she reveals the number buried in Chili's most recent earnings report that complicates…

People in this episode

Host: Sammi Cohen

Topics covered

• restaurant turnaround
• marketing strategy
• operational fixes
• viral marketing
• menu innovation

Keywords

• Chili's
• Kevin Hochman
• restaurant history
• marketing engine
• menu items
• Fast Company

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chili's, Procter & Gamble, Yum Brands, Fast Company

Products: Triple Dipper, Nashville Hot Mozzarella, Margarita of the Month

Places: Maggiano's Little Italy

More episodes of Social Currency with Sammi Cohen

• Van Leeuwen vs. Rebel: The $24 Million Ice Cream Copycat Lawsuit · September 9, 2026 · 14 min
• Dan Clancy (Twitch) on Live Streaming Community, Creator Monetization and the Future of AI · September 9, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Ankur Jain (Bilt) on the AI Commerce Race, Celebrity Rent Day Collabs and Neighborhood Concierge · August 18, 2026 · 56 min
• Everlane, Reformation and the Cracks in "Ethical Fashion" · August 11, 2026 · 15 min
• Raina Moskowitz (The Knot) on the Wedding Economy, the Taylor Swift Effect and AI Planning · August 4, 2026 · 60 min
• Kory Marchisotto (e.l.f. Beauty) on Acquiring Rhode, Building a Billion-Dollar Brand and Responding When Campaigns Don’t Land · July 28, 2026 · 1h 6m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Social Currency with Sammi Cohen podcast page.