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Chili's CEO Morning Routine Includes Early Start and 3-Mile Run ...
Chili's CEO wakes up at 5 a.m., runs daily, and uses that time to generate ideas for the business By Erin McDowell You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Chili's CEO Kevin Hochman starts his day before sunrise, and some of his best business ideas come to him during his morning run. Kevin Hochman/Chili's Bar & Grill; Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI 2026-05-11T19:36:28.553Z Chili's CEO Kevin Hochman told Business Insider he uses his morning run as a daily strategy session. From there, he meets with teams ranging from restaurant operators to corporate staff and investors. He also visits restaurants and talks to employees to learn more about how to improve Chili's. Chili's CEO Kevin Hochman starts his day before sunrise, and some of his best business ideas come to him once he's on the move. "I usually start between 5 and 6 [a.m.]," Hochman, who is president and CEO of Chili's parent company Brinker International, told Business Insider.After checking emails, he heads out for his daily 3.25-mile run, followed by a walk with his dog. However, Hochman's morning routine isn't just about fitness: those quiet, early-morning hours have become an informal strategy session for Hochman, one that helps shape decisions at a chain with locations across 49 states and more than 70,000 employees."Between running and walking the dog, you get a lot of ideas on what the things we should be working on are," he said. "It typically generates a lot of ideas when it comes to thinking about the business."The habit reflects Hochman's broader leadership approach, which has helped fuel Chili's turnaround: constant employee feedback, attention to detail, and a willingness to rethink how things are done. Hochman gets to Brinker International's Dallas headquarters around 8:30 a.m. Brinker International headquarters. Brinker International Hochman's days shift from solo brainstorming time to a packed schedule of internal and external meetings, restaurant visits, and "listening sessions" with employees inside Chili's restaurants, where many of Chili's biggest changes actually originate.Hochman told Business Insider that during these sessions, he often asks employees what they're most excited about at Chili's and what they would change if they were in his position."A huge amount of the changes that we've made at Chili's have come from sessions like those," he said, like streamlining inventory counting to be monthly instead of week...
Chili's CEO Explains the Two Core Principles Behind Its Successful ...
Chili's CEO Explains the Two Core Principles Behind Its Successful Turnaround
Chili's CEO says its comeback comes down to 2 simple principles
Chili's has pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds in casual dining, and CEO Kevin Hochman says the strategy behind it isn't complicated. Chili's is outperforming casual-dining rivals like Applebee's and Red Lobster in sales and traffic growth. CEO Kevin Hochman credits a simple formula: "Marketing brings them in; ops brings them back."
Chili's CEO says its comeback comes down to 2 simple principles
Chili's is defying a casual-dining slowdown with growth driven by viral menu hits, a focus on value, and a back-to-basics strategy. The chain has had steady sales growth over the past four years since Hochman took over as president of parent company Brinker International, which also owns the Italian casual-dining chain Maggiano's.
