Chili’s take on the Big Mac is beating McDonald’s at its own game

Americans aren’t getting their Big Mac fix at McDonald’s anymore. They’re going to Chili’s instead.

Americans aren’t getting their Big Mac fix at McDonald’s anymore. They’re going to Chili’s instead. Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, reported a nearly 15% in jump in same-store sales and increase of almost 6% in traffic for the most recent quarter thanks in part to a promotion of a new burger that now targets fast food. The rising prices of fast food gave sit-down restaurants such as Chili’s and Applebee’s an opportunity to take on its quick-service competitors with its own deals. Social media conversation tracked by Chili’s showed that customers were “frustrated by fast food prices,” Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman said in a April earnings call, prompting them to run ads that “use fast food as a foil.” Chili’s launched a cheeky new advertising campaign in April for a $10.99 meal deal that included its new Big Mac challenger called the Big Smasher, which it described as having “twice the beef of a Big Mac and flavors fast food lovers will recognize.” However, the Big Smasher doesn’t have two patties like the Big Mac sandwiched between three bun slices, but it has a bigger, half-pound slab of meat with similar toppings like diced onions, lettuce, pickles, cheese and Thousand Island dressing. Chili’s “significantly outperformed the industry in both sales and traffic during the quarter,” Hochman said in Wednesday’s earnings release, a veiled jab at McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s, which all reported generally dismal quarters.