Americas fast casual restaurants are almost universally struggling. But a few chains are betting on one universally beloved fried finger food to draw customers back into booths: the humble mozzarella stick.
Over the past year or so, the fast casual sector has faced a chilling effect as inflation and rising menu prices continue to drive consumers away. Last year, chains including Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, Buca di Beppo, and BurgerFi all sought bankruptcy protection. Others, like Dine Brands (the owner of Applebees and IHOP) and Darden (the owner of Olive Garden) have recently reported lackluster financial results.
Amidst this dreary environment, Chilis, the fast casual restaurant known for its margaritas and appetizers, is having a shockingly good year. The brand saw a 31% jump in sales in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, alongside a nearly 20% increase in traffic. Chilis parent company, Brinker International, raked in total sales of about $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025 compared to about $1.1 billion in 2024.
A good portion of Chilis success can be attributed to several viral appetizersmost notably, its fried mozzarella stickswhich have boosted the restaurants visibility in the cultural zeitgeist. Now, TJI Fridays seems to be taking a page out of Chilis book to revitalize its dying brand by putting mozzarella sticks front and center.
[Photo: Chili’s]
Chili’s pioneers mozzarella stick-Tok
In a January earnings call, Chilis CEO Kevin Hochman laid out a few of the changes driving Chilis recent success, including simplifying the menu, upgrading ingredients, and, crucially, investing in a social media marketing campaign centered around appetizers.
Back in April 2024, Chilis partnered with a number of social media influencers to market its Triple Dipper, an appetizer plate that lets customers choose three different dishes (the mozzarella sticks, which were added to the menu in 2002, being one of the most popular choices.) The collabs took off, spawning dozens of TikToks with viewership in the hundreds of thousands of influencers sampling both the Triple Dipper and the mozzarella sticks by themselves.
The mozzarella sticks developed a kind of cult online fanbase both for their chunky rectangular form factor and for their cheese-pull properties, a measurement of how stretchy melted cheese is thats a sought-after characteristic for food-based content creators. The appetizer was so popular among young fans on TikTok that the company introduced two new flavors in 2024, Nashville Hot Mozz and Honey Chipotle Mozz, which, predictably, spawned another wave of Chilis mozzarella stick reviews.
In all, Hochman told investors, interest in the Triple Dipper doubled year-over-year, jumping from accounting for 7% of total sales to 14%.
[Photo: TGI Fridays]
TJI Fridays goes stick-for-stick with Chili’s
It looks like TJI Fridays is now hoping to dip into the mozzarella stick craze in an effort to revive its business.
It’s been a rough several years for TGI Friday’s. In early 2024, the chain abruptly shuttered a series of underperforming stores. Then, in December, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing financial difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemicas the main factor driving the decision. Today, the company has whittled down its presence in the U.S. to just 85 stores, compared to 600 during its heyday in 2006.
Now, under CEO Ray Blanchette, who previously ran the company between 2018 and 2023 and returned again in January, TJI Fridays is taking a bold risk to turn its fate around. In an interview with CNN this week, Blanchette shared that the company is planning to change 85% of its menu to streamline the available options and attract both Gen Zers and millennials to the chain.
[Photo: TGI Fridays]
To start, the company is paring back on the more out-there items on the menu (at one point, oddly, that included sushi), introducing a new signature sauce, and revamping its cocktail menu. According to Blanchette, the new drink offerings include seven signature cocktails from the companys early days, now with eye-catching colors, and theyre intended to entice Gen Zers who love speciality beverages. Chilis has used a similar strategy for some time, debuting a margarita of the month in neon hues that often take off on socials (like last summers Berry Shark Bite Marg and this months 90s-inspired Radical Rita.)
And, of course, TGI Fridays is introducing its own spin on the saucy mozzarella sticks. Blanchette says that the brand has offered mozzarella sticks for decades, and actually helped turn them into a staple on menus across the industry. On its new menu, the chain will go stick-for-stick with Chilis through flavors including Franks RedHot Buffalo, Garlic Parmesan, and Whiskey Glaze.
For us, mozzarella sticks are not a trend, Blanchette told Fast Company. [. . .] When we saw others leaning into sauced versions, we knew it was time to remind everyone who did it firstand now were raising the bar.
To spread the word, TGI Fridays has a new socials team thats already jumping on mozzarella stick-Tok, including with a video posted this week of mozzarella sticks getting tossed in sauce to George Michaels sensual Careless Whisper. Chilis may have paved the way, but TGI Fridays will be the first testcase of whether mozzarella sticks are enough to save Americas fast casual restaurants.
