Chili's® Grill & Bar is taking its casual dining playbook onto the fairway, converting DeBell Golf Club in Burbank, California, into a branded 19th-hole clubhouse experience for two days — August 28 and 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The stunt marks the Brinker International flagship's first-ever location on a golf course and spotlights a growing brand strategy: meet guests where they spend leisure time, not just where they dine.
The Experience
The Chili's Golf Club pop-up opens the DeBell clubhouse to golfers finishing their rounds as well as walk-in guests who simply want the food and atmosphere. The on-site menu leans into golf culture with exclusive cocktails — the Transfusion Marg and the Tee Time Marg — alongside core menu items like the Triple Dipper®. A pro shop inside the venue stocks the Rhoback X Chili's limited-edition apparel collection, which is also available online at rhoback.com/chilis while supplies last. The nine-piece collection, developed with Rhoback, one of the fastest-growing active-lifestyle apparel brands in the country, carries the official Chili's Golf Club crest and ranges from performance polos ($96–$132) to Q-zips ($154–$158) and hats ($54).
"Chili's is the people's clubhouse, so it only made sense to bring that spirit to the course by building the Chili's Golf Club on a public muni, complete with the 19th hole of every golfer's dreams," said George Felix, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Brinker International.
Operator Implications
The activation reflects a broader push by casual dining chains to build brand equity through experiential marketing that extends well outside traditional restaurant walls. Rather than competing solely on value or menu innovation — areas where Chili's has already made headlines — the Chili's Golf Club targets an audience that skews active and lifestyle-oriented, two demographics that have proven commercially attractive to foodservice operators tracking off-premise and experiential revenue.
The campaign film supporting the launch features celebrity cameos and is distributed across Chili's and partner social channels, amplifying reach without requiring ongoing capital investment in permanent infrastructure. For operators watching restaurant marketing trends, the model — temporary physical footprint paired with a shoppable merch drop — offers a replicable template for brand building between product cycles.
Chili's operates 1,600 restaurants across 29 countries and two territories, with more than 70,000 team members. The brand has earned consecutive Ad Age Brand of the Year honors in 2025 and 2026, suggesting the chain's cultural momentum is being noticed well beyond the casual dining segment. The Rhoback collaboration extends that visibility into the active-lifestyle retail space, where brand affinity can translate into new guest acquisition.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
