Featured Image Credit: Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Topics: UK Food, US Food, Restaurants and bars, Fast Food
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: UK Food, US Food, Restaurants and bars, Fast Food
A Texas-born dining chain has revealed it's seeking franchise partners to help launch in the UK.
Over the past few years, staples such as Greggs, Wimpy, and Leon have found themselves faced with hot competition following the influx in US fast food chains making a break into the UK market.
So hot in fact, Dave's Hot Chicken even demands customers sign a waiver when ordering one specific item off the menu.
From Popeyes to Wendy's and Wingstop, and more recently Carl's Jr and Captain D's, it's hard to walk down a high street without spotting a restaurant which belongs to a major US restaurant chain.
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And next up to set it sights on a move across the pond is a fast food chain founded in 1975, known for its Tex-Mex and Southwest-inspired menu. Introducing Chili's.
Despite reports of the chain struggling in recent years, a report released by Business Insider last August detailed it topping its revenue and profit estimates for its fourth quarter.
Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman - Brinker Chili's parent company - said in a statement: "Chili's is officially back, baby back."
A combination of a re-shuffling of the menu, various viral social media moments and a new ribs offering have been praised as contributing to the chain's recent resurgence.
Chili's currently boasts over 1,600 restaurants spanning 30 countries across the globe, serving 'over one million visitors worldwide every day'.
And so well is the chain doing that it's now set its sights on the UK, a post for the chain popping up on the The Franchising Centre's site.
The page pitches the franchising opportunity as 'the perfect opportunity for high net worth individuals to expand their portfolio with an exciting and rewarding new business venture'.
It encourages the overseas expansion as being a way for investors to help 'establish [their] own significant presence in the UK Food and Beverage industry estimated to be worth more than £75 billion'.
And it asks for a minimum investment of £2 million - 'dependent on level of commitment' - alongside 'proven hospitality/ food service experience'.
Although, it notes 'full support from a dedicated global support team of 20+ subject matter experts'.
According to Time Out, the chain has previously launched restaurants in the UK, eight locations cropping up in areas such as Cambridge. However, in 2009, 'most' are reported as being forced to close.
So, if you have a spare £2 million lying about and fancy yourself a 'distinctive, flavourful mix of Southwestern, Texas-inspired, classic American favourites,' then how about it?