The viral cheese pull trend on social media has significantly boosted chain restaurants like Chili's, helping them recover from financial struggles by attracting customers through engaging content, though experts warn this focus on virality may impact authenticity and the true dining experience.
Chili's is replacing its iconic Skillet Beef Queso, a staple for 35 years, with a new vegetarian Southwest Queso to improve flavor and customer satisfaction, starting October 2025, amid mixed reactions from fans and a focus on menu innovation.
To celebrate the rare total solar eclipse on April 8, several chain restaurants are offering food discounts nationwide. Burger King is providing a buy-one-get-one-free deal on Whoppers for Royal Perk members, while Chili's is offering free appetizers on April 7 and 8 with the purchase of an adult entrée using the code APPCLIPSE. Cracker Barrel has a breakfast deal for free "Eclipse Pancakes" with the purchase of an entrée, and Pizza Hut is offering a large pizza for $12 on April 8.
A viral TikTok video has exposed restaurants' use of artificial sizzle tactics, with a worker seen pouring water over a dish to make it steam and sizzle. Viewers are tagging restaurant chain Chili's to ask if it also uses this tactic for its popular fajitas, with some claiming to be former employees saying the company does deploy similar tactics. The video has caused shock among viewers who assumed the sizzle was due to the food still cooking, with some saying their life up to this point has been a lie.