The well-known chain of American casual dining restaurants Chili’s enters the Romanian market. The first restaurant will be opened in 2026 in Promenada Mall.
The announcement was made by the co-founder and co-owner of the company that will develop the network locally, Honorius Prigoană. He told g4food.ro that by 2030 he wants to open at least 5 units with his partner, as well as a training center for Chili’s employees.
The company bringing the franchise to Romania, First International Group SRL, is owned 50/50 by Honorius Prigoană and the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Kotop, who will also be the CEO.
Prigoană says his associate first encountered with Chili’s in Dubai, where he leased commercial space for the restaurant chain. Based on discussions, the two realized that the business has great potential in Romania.
A casual diner is a full-service restaurant with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere and an affordable menu.
„In Romania we have don’t find very developed the concept of casual dining, and here I see the opportunity. We have very expensive restaurants, followed by fast food restaurants by a long distance [in terms of prices]. There is a space between them that we have to fill”, said Prigoană for G4Food.
The Romanian company applied to become a franchise, and the American giant Brinker International, the company that owns the restaurant chain, carried out thorough checks and even sent representatives to Romania twice to analyze the market. They were delighted, they signed, and now the company from Romania will start developing the business.
The two associates will start with restaurants in malls, but they say they want to open units including in military bases in Romania, such as Mihail Kogălniceanu, which will be expanded through a massive investment.
Incidentally, the only Chili’s restaurant in the European Union can be found at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The first restaurant, investment of 600-700,000 euros
The first Chili’s restaurant in Romania will be opened in 2026 in Promenada Mall, and the investment in it will be 600-700,000 euros, according to the Romanian entrepreneur. The unit will have approximately 40 employees and will strictly follow the US menu, in a first phase.
„We want the people who go to Chili’s in Bucharest to have the same experience as in New York”, explained Prigoană. Americans allow chain restaurants to make certain menu changes or come up with innovations if they want.
The restaurant in Promenada Mall will have a manager coming from a Chili’s restaurant in Dubai.
However, the restaurants in Romania will also have a peculiarity, that there will be a dedicated section, with different access, for delivery people, so that they do not pass through the tables when they come to pick up the orders.
In the next period, the two associates, Prigoană and Kotop, will go to the USA for training programs supported by Brinker International. This stage is not mandatory, but the plans of the two co-founders are not only limited to the development of the restaurant network, but also to the opening, later, of a Chili’s training center in Bucharest, where employees from the region will be trained. The American company plans to expand strongly in Europe.
Chili’s was founded by Larry Lavine in 1975 in Texas. His concept was to create a casual, full-service restaurant with a menu offering different types of burgers at an affordable price. Today, Chili’s offers American food, food based on the dishes of the Tejano population (Texans of Mexican origin), but also dishes influenced by Mexican cuisine.
