‘Is the cheese pull challenge accepted?’: Chili’s and TGI Fridays reignite their rivalry over mozzarella sticks on social media

Chili’s and TGI Fridays are in a full-blown mozzarella stick feud.

Last week, TGI Fridays unveiled its new menu with a post on X: “New menu’s out. mozz sticks hit harder. happy hour’s calling. life’s good.” The next day, the chain appeared to throw shade at its fast casual rival, Chili’s Grill & Bar.

“Somebody tell [chili pepper emoji] to stay in their lane,” TGI Fridays posted on May 14. “Y’all are not mozzarella stick people. We are. That’s it. That’s the tweet.”

Chili’s clapped back by sharing a screenshot of the post: “@ us next time… Also, we honestly didn’t know you were still open. Congrats!”

Plot twist: the original tweet wasn’t even real. It was part of a marketing stunt pulled off by Chili’s. “The gag is this wasn’t even a real tweet,” TGI Fridays admitted in a reply to a commenter.

Even so, the jab likely stung. TGI Fridays has only 85 restaurants left in the U.S., down from about 270 at the start of last year. Its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2024, blaming the pandemic for ongoing financial struggles. Just last month, the chain closed another 30 locations.

“OMG, I think I just witnessed a murder,” one X user wrote. Another added insult to injury: “they closed the Fridays near me….and opened another chilis…” Chili’s responded: “was probably for the best.”

Fans also dredged up a 2021 lawsuit against TGI Fridays over its frozen mozzarella sticks, which were found to contain cheddar instead of mozzarella. “Do they actually contain mozzarella now or nah?” one person asked.

Refusing to back down, TGI Fridays proposed a showdown. “Is the cheese pull challenge accepted or nah??” the company asked.

So… Team Chili’s or Team Fridays?

https://www.fastcompany.com/91337031/chilis-tgi-fridays-mozzarella-sticks-rivalry?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss