Start with a number worth sitting with: 3 million. That is how many separate donations Chili’s guests made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the past year alone, most of them a dollar handed over at a checkout. Stack 24 years of that together and the total clears $130 million. This week Chili’s set a new number beside it: $150 million, committed over the next 15 years.
The money comes with an address. It names the Chili’s Clinical Center, opening February 2027 on the Memphis campus, which gathers major outpatient services under one roof. Fewer hallways between appointments, fewer buildings to learn, more room designed for families instead of around them. St. Jude welcomes more than 600 new cancer patients a year, and the building is sized for exactly that.
Kevin Hochman of Chili’s handed the credit off immediately, pointing at guests and team members rather than the boardroom, and Ike Anand of ALSAC did the same. Through September the Create A Pepper coloring sheets are back on tables at $1, $5, $10 and $25. A 2027 building, funded one crayon at a time.
