“David Novak, former longtime CEO of Yum! Brands, taught me that the answer is already in the room, you just have to ask questions and really listen to the people working on the business and close to the customer. My job as a leader is to sort through those ideas; give teams resources and support; and then with them, go make things happen. And always remember to bring your stakeholders along.”
— Kevin Hochman CEO
Brinker International
the robots in the summer of 2022 after determining they didn’t make enough of an impact on productivity or customer traffi c. “At the end of the day, our servers are what makes the difference in going to Chili’s — they make our guests feel special and create a fun and inviting atmosphere for them. So, while a robot might be able to remove some of the unfun tasks our team members don’t want to perform one day, they’ll never be able to replace the human touch of making our guests feel special.” While Rita has been the most visible casualty of Brinker’s revised strategy, other pandemic-era initiatives are also being rethought. In response to the lockdowns and the rise in delivery business that followed, the company introduced two virtual kitchen concepts designed to complement its existing restaurants: It’s Just Wings and Maggiano’s Italian Classics. The virtual restaurants helped satisfy off-premises customers who were still wary about eating in a dining room surrounded by other guests, but they posed their own challenges. Although the brands were building off Chili’s and Maggiano’s respectively, they added new hurdles for the kitchen staff, including the need for separate cooking lines and training on unique menu items.
In its continuing quest to simplify, Chili’s added some of the unique
14 FEDA News & Views
It’s Just Wings offerings, such as sauces, to its regular menu while Maggiano’s Italian Classics will be discontinued entirely. “We will have Maggiano’s Italian Classics phased out by the end of June,” Hochman says. “It was very low mixing and complex to operate. It’s Just Wings continues to be a business we will operate. While it’s a small part of our sales, it’s easier to operate and big enough to maintain.” While this streamlining strategy has obvious cost savings — it’s more effi cient when brick-and- mortar and virtual kitchens share equipment and recipes — Hochman says the benefi ts to Brinker’s 60,000 restaurant team members are just as profound. Kitchen workers are not spread as thin and more effi cient cooking equipment makes it easier for staff to maintain pace with incoming orders. It all adds up to a better working environment and less turnover at a time when nearly every operator is looking for hands and heads. “Our goal is to make our restaurant team members’ jobs easier, more fun and more rewarding,” Hochman says. “Which means reducing or eliminating work that doesn’t benefi t the guest, being deliberate about creating engagement for the restaurant teams and accelerating business growth to create more opportunities for everyone. Our managerial turnover is now back to pre-pandemic levels and well ahead
of the industry. And we’ve got lots more upside ahead of us.”
Finding the Answer
Already in the Room The belief in that upside is why Hochman was chosen to lead Brinker during this pivotal period for the restaurant industry. More than any other quality, Hochman credits his eagerness to learn from his past success in reconnecting brands to younger consumers, and he believes all businesses can benefi t from that approach. “I really value the expertise on the business,” he says. “I’m constantly asking questions to understand what the pain points in the business are and what can we do as leaders to support our teams, accelerate their growth and accelerate their business. “David Novak, former longtime
CEO of Yum! Brands, taught me that the answer is already in the room, you just have to ask questions and really listen to the people working on the business and close to the customer,” Hochman continues. “My job as a leader is to sort through those ideas; give teams resources and support; and then with them, go make things happen. And always remember to bring your stakeholders along.”
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