The American restaurant chain Chili’s has modified its logotype not less than three times since 1975 when the original design was introduced. With almost every new version, the chili pepper was growing more visible.
Chili’s is a popular American chain with a rich history and cuisine based on a blend of flavors from America, Spain, Mexico, and Native American Indian tribes.
The first Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurant opened in 1975 in Dallas, Texas. Its founder was Larry Lavin. The establishment became one of the pioneers in the industry of inexpensive restaurants with delicious food, quality service, and a special, relaxed atmosphere. At first, the restaurant served a variety of hamburgers, but then the menu was expanded. By the early 1980s, there were about thirty Chili’s locations, all of which were decorated in the traditional style of the Southwestern states.
In 1983, Lavin sold the successful chain to Norman Brinker, whose company took Chili’s to the next level. Brinker International is one of the leaders in the casual dining restaurant segment.
Today Chili’s has 1500 restaurants in 30 countries, where up to 1 million people come every day. All of them are attracted by the cozy atmosphere, entertainment, and Texas-Mexican cuisine. At Chili’s they cook only with natural products, the main method is grilling. Naturally, chili peppers are an essential ingredient in the dishes served, but that’s not to say they are all spicy. Chili’s signature drink is a margarita cocktail in various variations.
A typical Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurant these days is about 560 square meters, seats up to 200 diners, and is staffed by 120 people who go by the nickname “ChiliHeads”. Every guest is greeted by the waiters with a “signature” greeting – “Welcome to Chili’s!”.
Chili`s Grill & Bar restaurant will please connoisseurs of Mexican and American cuisine with a varied menu and cozy atmosphere, which disposes to friendly communication.
What is Chili’s?
Chili’s Grill & Bar is the name of an American restaurant chain with more than 1,500 locations in 50 U.S. states and 29 other countries. The chain accounts for 87 percent of parent company Brinker’s revenue. In addition to Chili’s, Brinker owns Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant chain and a minority stake in the Macaroni Grill chain.
The first location started working in a converted postal station on Greenville Avenue in Dallas, Texas. The original Chili’s logo featured the name of the brand in rather plump and playful lowercase letters. You could feel the casualness of handwriting in it. The apostrophe was replaced by a tiny chili pepper.
The redesign of the brand’s visual identity brought the logo most recognized today. The font has been changed but had a lot in common with the previous version. The letter “h” was joined with the “l” by extending the leg of the “h”. The pepper also got its a red and green color palette.
The letters lost some of their casual style, although they still looked pretty friendly. The “H” and “L” were connected with each other. The distance between the letters (especially the second “I” and the “S”) grew smaller, while the writing “Grill & Bar” appeared inside an ellipsoid below. The writing was red.
The writing “Grill & Bar” was gone. The space between the letters grew somewhat larger. The pepper was redrawn, due to which it got a more playful and appetizing look.
In addition to the primary wordmark described above, the company also introduced an alternative emblem where the word “Chili” was replaced with a drawing. Apart from the flat version, a 3D one was also used.
The company began rolling out an updated version of its chili pepper logo in the fall of 2011. The pepper was redrawn. Now, the stalk formed the apostrophe, due to which the design grew cleaner. The green top of the pepper disappeared, which also worked for the same purpose.
The 2011 Chili’s logo was developed by Tesser Inc, a firm that was also behind the Del Taco rebrand.
The minimalistic yet bright logo of the Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurant chain has the red chili pepper as its main accent, however, the bold and smooth lowercase “S”, written in an elegant sans-serif, adds coziness and warmth to the emblem’s design. Its rounded contours make the logo look very friendly and welcoming.
As for the color palette of Chili’s visual identity, it is based on the combination of red and green, with white most often used for a background. Red is not only the color, associated with chili peppers but also a symbol of passion and love, which the chain aims to give to their customers. As for the green shade, it points to the natural ingredients concept and makes up a great addition to the pepper emblem.