CHILI'S sister restaurant is expanding its menu and increasing portion sizes to help increase customer satisfaction.

The Italian chain Maggiano's Little Italy is working to boost its customer sales after a drop in second-quarter earnings.

The chain, a sister brand of Chili's, is known for its family-style menu and large Italian selection.

The company's second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year reported a 2.4% drop in sales, according to Restaurant Drive.

Maggiano Little Italy

In an attempt to bring the restaurant back to life, Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman plans to launch a revival effort titled: Back to Maggiano's.

Hochman attributes the drop in sales to the brand's deviation from its identity.

"We lost a little bit of what the North Star of Maggiano's is, which is when it was at its best, these are over-the-top portions, very shareable plates," Hochman said.

To get back to its roots, Maggiano's will increase its portion sizes by 20% without significantly raising prices.

Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman

Hochman said its revival plans include adding more options to its family-style menu to increase flexibility within the category.

The Family Style Menu allows groups to order two salads, two appetizers, four entrees, and three desserts.

The move is also an effort to position the restaurant as a more family-friendly option.

Brinker has made a great effort in recent months to revitalize the Maggiano's brand, including promoting George Felix, Chili's chief marketing officer, to a companywide role.

Family Style Menu

The company also hired a Chili's regional operations vice president as Maggiano's chief operating officer.

Despite the chain's great efforts to turn the brand around, sales have yet to greatly improve.

There are currently only 53 Maggiano's Little Italy locations across 22 states.

The smaller size makes it harder to remain competitive with larger chains, such as the competitive advantage Chilis had when rebranding.

How it all adds up

"I don't think it's going to be as fast or as dramatic as Chili's just because we don't have this shot in the arm to get a bunch of traffic," Hochman said during the fiscal Q1 2026 earnings call.

"Over time, I think we'll see it stabilize and start to grow."

We lost a little bit of what the North Star of Maggiano's is, which is when it was at its best, these are over-the-top portions, very shareable plates.

Putting it in context

Location, rent and staffing shape restaurant stories long before the food does, and the operators who last are the ones who plan around all three.

What to remember

  • CHILI'S sister restaurant is expanding its menu and increasing portion sizes to help increase customer satisfaction
  • The Italian chain Maggiano's Little Italy is working to boost its customer sales after a drop in second-quarter earnings
  • The chain, a sister brand of Chili's, is known for its family-style menu and large Italian selection
  • In an attempt to bring the restaurant back to life, Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman plans to launch a revival effort titled: Back to Maggiano's
  • "We lost a little bit of what the North Star of Maggiano's is

By the numbers

  • The company's second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year reported a 2.4% drop in sales, according to Restaurant Drive
  • Hochman said during the fiscal Q1 2026 earnings call

The bottom line

Every change in the dining room eventually reaches the same test, which is whether people keep choosing it once the novelty has worn off.