Take 5: Andrea Langus
An in the Mix Feature Interview
Andrea Langus
Senior Manager of Brand Strategy, Bar & Beverage
Chili’s Grill & Bar
Andrea Davidoff Langus is the Senior Manager of Brand Strategy, Bar & Beverage at Chili’s Grill & Bar. At Chili’s, Andrea leads the brand’s beverage business strategy and planning, beverage innovation and drink development. She spends a lot of time thinking and talking about tequila – because who makes more margaritas than Chili’s? The brand sold 23 million margs in 2023!
Andrea has spent 18 years learning the wine and spirits industry, gaining experience from different facets of the industry. Prior to Chili’s, Andrea was a Brand Manager with Palm Bay International in New York, leading marketing efforts for several key wine brands including Santa Rita from Chile, Rocca della Macie in Tuscany, Heaven Hill Wines from Washington, and Yealands in New Zealand, among others. For these brands, she managed marketing, promotions and sales strategies, working closely with the sales team to meet their needs. Andrea also spent 8 years with RF|Binder Partners leading PR and marketing initiatives with Wines of Germany, the information and marketing bureau for all German wines in the US.
Mallory Ambrose: Hi Andrea, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. To start, would you share a bit about your journey into the beverage and hospitality world? What inspired you to pursue a career in this industry?
Andrea Langus:
I grew up working in my mother’s bakery and café in Dallas. I did everything from folding pastry boxes and slicing cake to mixing cookie dough and taking lunch orders. It impacted how I show up in the world and engage with people, no matter what side of the counter I’m on.
I moved to New York City after graduating from the University of Texas to work in PR, and one of my first clients was a new-at-the-time brand, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur. That kicked off several years of working with alc-bev clients like Wines of Germany, Wines of Vinho Verde and Pilsner Urquell. From there I jumped to the supplier side and began working with Palm Bay International as a Brand Manager for wines from all over the world.
I’ve had a varied path through the beverage world working on so many different sides of the industry between agency, importer and my role today as Senior Manager of Bar & Beverage at Chili’s Grill & Bar. I kept moving forward in the industry because I loved that there was always something new to learn.
MA: As Senior Manager of Brand Strategy, you oversee bar & beverage for Chili’s Grill & Bar. What are the key factors you consider when developing and implementing promotional initiatives when it comes to the beverage program at Chili’s Grill & Bar? How do you balance offering popular, mainstream beverages with more unique or niche options that set Chili’s apart from competitors in the market?
AL: What sets Chili’s apart is our tequila and Margarita leadership – Chili’s sold 23 million margs in 2023! This North Star allows us to have a clear focus when innovating and looking at trends.
We always keep two key stakeholders in mind when developing drink innovation: Our Guests and our Team Members. We want to have an access point into tequila and Margs for all Guests: from our $6 Margarita of the Month – which is always seasonal and flavorful – to our flagship Presidente Marg; to our Top Shelf Margaritas with Ultra-Premium brands like Casamigos, Patron and most recently, Don Julio.
We are also mindful of how innovations will impact our Team Members’ day-to-day lives. We work closely with our partners in Operations Services to understand the impact any innovation will have on the restaurant. We have to balance changes to our beverage program with simplification in the restaurant.
MA: Chili’s recently hopped on the Espresso Martini train launching a tequila-based riff of the classic cocktail with the help of reality TV stars, Scheana Shay and Katie Maloney. Can you share any growing trends or emerging preferences like the Espresso Martini craze that you’ve observed in beverage consumption among Chili’s Grill & Bar patrons?
AL: The Chili’s Espresso Martini was such a fun drink to execute! Especially with a big launch with a lot of impact and 360 marketing support, this was a traffic driving innovation that drove alcohol sales and improved positive buzz scores.
As the overall popularity of tequila has grown, we’ve seen our Guest grow along with us. When I first started at Chili’s 3 years ago, the belief was higher end tequila had no place in our restaurants. However, our Ultra-Premium Margarita category grew 30% in F24! We believe we can balance a suite of premium, top shelf margaritas with everyday value margs to reach a wide range of Chili’s Guests.
MA: Along with the iconic ‘Marg of the Month’ campaign, Chili’s has recently introduced a new menu of premium margaritas to further establish themselves as the expert in margaritas. Could you elaborate on the process of developing signature cocktails?
AL: We have the best partners in the industry! They bring us great ideas for drink innovation. Every drink’s journey varies, but all of them go through various rounds of recipe testing at our corporate office, where we get feedback from cross functional partners and key stakeholders before landing on the menu. There’s a lot of work in between those two milestones – we often bring concepts into a restaurant to test with Guests or get insights on concepts through programs like Datassential or Guest surveys.
MA: Low- and no-alcohol products continue to grow YOY. How do you ensure a balance between offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage options to cater to diverse guest preferences?
AL: This is a space we are watching closely. We have good mix of sodas, teas and lemonades that provide an NA bev option (Strawberry Lemonade is our best-selling beverage!). As Mocktails continue to grow and we hear from our Guests regarding this category, we will look for innovation opportunities to meet our Guests where they are.
MA: Earlier this year Chili’s Grill & Bar partnered with Spire Motorsports to unveil Chili’s ‘Catch a ‘Rita’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, driven by NASCAR racer Corey LaJoie in Daytona. Can you discuss past and/or upcoming initiatives and promotions you’ve implemented to drive beverage sales and enhance the guest experience?
AL: The Spire Motorsports partnership was born from the MRI Simmons insight that 68% of NASCAR fans visited CDR in the last 30 days. We debuted our sponsorship of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, driven by Corey LaJoie, at Daytona in February 2024, just before National Margarita Day. The “Catch a Rita” car celebrated Chili’s Grill & Bar’s iconic status as one of the nation’s top margarita destinations by spotlighting our famous Presidente Margarita. Plus, we had the opportunity to talk about our National Margarita Day offers in the earned coverage around the race, resulting in one of our biggest National Margarita Days in Chili’s history!
We’re always looking for new ways to drive traffic and sales at the bar: we are leaning into seasonal, “bubble gum pop” flavors for our $6 Marg of the Month, like our Witches Brew Marg for October or Tito’s Watermelon Spritz in the summer. This strategy has led to this category growing each month for the last six months.
Chili’s® Grill & Bar, in partnership with Spire Motorsports, unveils the paint scheme for the Chili’s ‘Catch a ‘Rita’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, driven by NASCAR racer Corey LaJoie.
MA: How do you ensure consistency in beverage quality and presentation across different Chili’s Grill & Bar locations?
AL: Any new drink going into our restaurants gets carefully reviewed with our Operations Services and Learning & Development teams to ensure flawless execution. We determine the best way to communicate the build: can we share the recipe for Managers to taste with their 21+ Team Members or is a training video needed? We also work closely with a small group of Operations Directors called Regional Beverage Ambassadors to champion new drink roll outs. They are not only a great gut check for our team when innovating or making changes to the bar, they also relay feedback from the field, allowing us to troubleshoot issues quickly.
Our Social Media team is also a great resource – if they spy posts of drinks that are not up to our standards, they flag our team so we can quickly course correct.
MA: Can you share any memorable successes or highlights from your experience while overseeing bar & beverage for Chili’s?
AL: So many, but two come to mind immediately. The first is the Casamigos Marg. While Casamigos Reposado was already approved for our mandate list, we determined we needed a more accessible drink to induce Guest trial. We had 24 hours to develop a drink for leadership approval before the menu went to print! Not only did we meet that goal, the Casamigos Marg is one of our top sellers!
The second is Chili’s Spice-a-Rita, which was more than a year in the making. Our team went on a Marg Safari around Dallas Metroplex in the fall of 2022 to see what margarita flavors, glassware and garnishes seemed to be trending (tough job!). We realized any tequila and margarita restaurants worth their salt (pun intended) offered a Spicy Margarita, but not Chili’s. Several tastings and focus groups got us to a spicy-sweet blend of Espolon Reposado Tequila, Grand Marnier and Monin Jalapeño Concentrate. Spice-a-Rita was first introduced as a Margarita of the Month in January 2024 to encourage trial, with a “Nice-a-Rita” option for the non-spicy drinker; it rolled to the menu a month later. What made this drink even more special I was pregnant with my son during development. When it launched on the menu, I got to have my first in-restaurant Spice-a-Rita baby with my new baby at our local Chili’s in Richardson.
MA: Looking ahead, what trends or innovations do you anticipate shaping the future of beverage offerings at Chili’s Grill & Bar?
AL: I think you’ll continue to see premiumization impact what Margs our Guests are buying. Plus, we are driving a lot of new Guests into Chili’s right now given our presence on media. Between that new Guest and Chili’s continuing to establish itself as a Tequila and Margarita Leader, I believe we’ll continue to see those trade ups.
I think that premiumization will be balanced by Guests leaning into bold flavors and colorful Margaritas and cocktails; drinks that are unique and exciting enough to drive a Guest into Chili’s because they ‘have to try that!’
MA: In what ways has IMI Agency supported Brinker International and Chili’s Grill & Bar’s growth and development as a client in the national on-premise F&B arena?
AL: IMI Agency has provided a lot of support for the Brinker Beverage Team over the years. I find they add the most value when navigating the challenges of the alcohol industry across the various state and local laws. The IMI Brinker team – Jason Charles, Renee Brooks, Gabriel Fore and Patrick McGinn – have been invaluable by providing counsel and solutions that allow our team to remain an industry leader while remaining compliant.
MA: Is there anything else you would like to share with the in the Mix readers?
AL: Whether it’s been a week or a couple years, make sure you come into Chili’s for a Big Smasher Burger and a margarita!
