Chili's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chili's Grill & Bar | |
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| Type | Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
| Industry | casual dining restaurant |
| Website | www.chilis.com |
Chili's Grill & Bar is a chain of over 1,000 casual dining restaurants, most located in the United States. It was founded by Larry Lavine and is currently owned by Brinker International, which also owns On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Maggiano's Little Italy, and Romano's Macaroni Grill.
Its current slogan is "Spicealicious".
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[edit] History
Chili's first location, a converted house on Greenville Ave, in Dallas, Texas, opened on March 13, 1975. The food was so popular that customers often lined up in the parking lot waiting for a table. In 1979, the front porch was enclosed, to allow those waiting to order a margarita, a very profitable and crowd-pleasing decision.[citation needed] At that time the menu consisted almost entirely of burgers, chili, chili tacos and fries.
It now has locations in 49 U.S. states (all except Montana) and 23 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Australia and the UK. Chili's opened its 1,000th restaurant on August 3, 2004.
On September 20, 2004 and September 25, 2006, the day's profits from all Chili's locations owned by parent company Brinker International were donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Chili's also makes significant contributions to the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and the Limbs For Life Foundation.
[edit] Menu
Chili's serves American food slightly influenced by Mexican cuisine. Appetizers include the Awesome Blossom, boneless buffalo wings, Chicken Crispers, spinach and artichoke dip, and Skillet Queso. Featured entrees are burgers, fajitas, and baby back ribs. Chili's also serves a variety of alcoholic drinks and desserts, such as the Molten Chocolate Cake.
[edit] The song
Chili's (Baby Back Ribs) is a popular advertising jingle used in Chili's Restaurant commercials to advertise the restaurant's line of baby back ribs. The ad features a doo-wop quartet singing a cappella. Three phrases from the song have entered American popular culture:
- A baritone voice, staccato: "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back, I want my baby back, baby back, baby back... "
- A tenor voice: "I want my Chilliiiiiiis baby baaack riiibbs"
- A Basso profondo voice: "Barbecue Sauce".
The song was written by Guy Bommarito and produced by Tom Faulkner for GSD&M Advertising of Austin, Texas. Subsequent versions of the popular commercial and its catchy jingle have included *NSYNC, Evander Holyfield, and Dominique Dawes. The jingle was quoted (and perverted) by the character Fat Bastard (Mike Myers) in the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It has also been sung on the sitcoms Will & Grace, The War at Home, The Office, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Scrubs. In the last of these, it is said to be the only song with the word "baby" in it that the hospital's resident a cappella group, The Worthless Peons, know.
Advertising Age magazine named the song first on its list of "10 songs most likely to get stuck in your head" in 2004.
[edit] Trivia
In the television comedy mockumentary The Office, manager Michael Scott one day insists upon taking a business client to Chili's instead of the Radisson. He submitted a letter to the editor of Small Businessman's Magazine declaring that Chili's is the "new golf course," where business gets done. At the restaurant and during the meeting, Scott sprinkles Chili's references throughout the meeting. He asks the waitress, "May we have an Awesome Blossom, please? Extra awesome?" He later breaks a discussion between his boss and their client by bursting into the "Babyback Ribs" song. Also, after firing an employee named Devon, he gives him a Chili's Gift Certificate in a bid to salvage their "friendship". And in another instance, Michael Scott holds the Annual Employee Awards Night "The Dundies" at a Chili's.
