Applebee's vs Chili's Grill & Bar
The neighborhood grill-and-bar war: two named-price value machines.
B-
Applebee's
American casual dining (neighborhood grill and bar)
Named-price bundling, anchoring, and the loss-leader cocktail
- Grade
- B-
- Price tier
- $$
- Full ticket
- 2.36x base-to-register
- Comparably NPS
- -23
What it does best
- One number instead of three
- The dollar margarita is bait, not a product
- A tall steak makes the middle look sensible
A-
Chili's Grill & Bar
Tex-Mex / American casual
A round-number bundle that integrates three decisions into one price
- Grade
- A-
- Price tier
- $$
- Full ticket
- 3.7x base-to-register
- 3 For Me starts at
- $10.99, all day
What it does best
- The bundle hides the bill
- Bottomless chips decouple eating from paying
- A round value number against a charm board
The verdict
On menu craft, Chili's Grill & Bar edges it: A- to B-. Both are worth reading, but Chili's Grill & Bar's board runs the behavioral levers more cleanly.