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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n The revival of trends last seen three decades ago is not just limited to hair scrunchies and baggy \u201cdad jeans\u201d. In the US, casual restaurant chains that American diners had all but abandoned are also making a comeback.<\/p>\n One such is Chili\u2019s, a bar and grill chain that reached its cultural zenith in the 1990s with a seemingly ubiquitous \u201cBaby Back Ribs\u201d jingle. The shares of parent company Brinker International have warmed up of late, quadrupling over the past two years thanks to resurgent sales. Meanwhile, shares in the Cheesecake Factory, a chain known for expansive menus and generous portions, are up nearly 90 per cent. Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants is up by a third.<\/p>\n Sit-down restaurants make for unlikely Wall Street winners. The sector has been convulsed by bankruptcies; Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday and Hooters are among the big names that didn\u2019t make it. Customers have defected to cheap fast-food chains such as McDonald\u2019s and so-called fast-casual outlets \u2014 office lunch, basically \u2014 like Chipotle, Cava or Sweetgreen.\u00a0<\/p>\n But as fast and fast-casual chains have raised prices, the \u201890s mob has spied a chance to hit back. Chili\u2019s \u201c3 for Me\u201d combo deal gets diners a main, a drink and a side for less than a McDonald\u2019s large-sized Big Mac value meal. Social media has helped: a video showing the stretchiness of Chili\u2019s mozzarella sticks went viral.<\/p>\n The result: Chili\u2019s same-store sales were up 24 per cent for the June quarter, the fifth straight quarter of double-digit growth. By contrast, Cava, a Mediterranean takeaway that pulled off a blockbuster stock market debut in 2023, managed just a tenth of that growth rate in its latest quarter, a sharp deceleration. Chipotle and Sweetgreen had it worse, with declining like-for-like sales.<\/p>\n Even after a blistering rally, Brinker shares trade at just 13 times forward earnings, less than half Chipotle\u2019s multiple. That could reflect fears of a price war; McDonald\u2019s has rolled out $5 meal deals, for example. But it seems miserly, given Brinker\u2019s sales growth and operating margin are now back up to where they were in the mid-1990s, when the stock traded at 30 times earnings. That part of the retro revival for now remains elusive.<\/p>\n pan.yuk@ft.com<\/em><\/p>\n