Chilli to Chili’s: Show Diners Some ‘TLC’ by Adding More Vegan Menu Options

Singer Joins PETA in Pushing Restaurant Chain to Expand Plant-Based Offerings

For Immediate Release:
March 21, 2017

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

As the demand for healthy and humane plant-based meals continues to skyrocket, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas sent a letter on PETA’s behalf to the parent company of Chili’s Grill & Bar calling for the restaurant chain to get in on this rising trend by adding more vegan options to its menu.

“Over the last few years, I have committed myself to using my celebrity to encourage fans to embrace everyday choices that lead to a healthier lifestyle,” she writes. “I am a fan of Chili’s restaurants and am so committed to this initiative on a personal level that I’d love to work with you to help introduce and promote this new menu option to the public.”

Chilli, who’s one-third of the multiplatinum, Grammy Award–winning group TLC, previously partnered with PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or use for entertainment”—to strip down and appear in tiger stripes to speak out against cruelty in the circus.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

Chilli’s letter to Wyman Roberts, CEO and president of Chili’s parent company, Brinker International, follows.

Wyman Roberts

CEO and President

Brinker International

Dear Mr. Roberts,

I hope all is well with you! I’m reaching out to suggest that Chili’s update its menu by adding exciting plant-based options, such as vegan chicken. Over the last few years, I have committed myself to using my celebrity to encourage fans to embrace everyday choices that lead to a healthier lifestyle.

By introducing plant-based foods, you would attract not only vegans but also the reported “38 percent of Americans who eat meatless meals at least once per week.” It would also help Chili’s compete with restaurants that already offer vegan menu options, such as Yard House, which has an entire Gardein chicken section on its menu. Your current online vegetarian menu is focused on holding meat from various dishes, and vegan options are mostly limited to a few sides. But as I’m sure you’d agree, diners who want to eat plant-based foods at Chili’s deserve more than a meal made up of side dishes! The addition of vegan chicken would give a little extra spice to various sections of Chili’s menu, from Salads, Soups, & Chili to Sandwiches and Fajitas & Enchiladas.

I’d love to see Chili’s accommodate plant-based diners and their family and friends by incorporating vegan options into its menu. What better way to win over new customers or cater to regular ones than by offering delicious and cruelty-free foods with a trademark Chili’s spin? I am a fan of Chili’s restaurants and am so committed to this initiative on a personal level that I’d love to work with you to help introduce and promote this new menu option to the public.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to working with you to bring Chili’s customers a healthier option for dining.

Sincerely,

Chilli