Chili’s Chain Creator Brinker Dies In Colo.

COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) – Norman Brinker, the restaurant mogul who developed the salad bar and built a worldwide casual dining empire that includes Chili’s Grill & Bar, has died at age 78.

Brinker died Tuesday at a hospital in Colorado, said Robin Rymer at Swan-Law Funeral Home in Colorado Springs. She did not know the cause of death.

Brinker retired as chairman of Dallas-based Brinker International in 2000. The company now has 1,700 restaurants in 27 countries, including the On the Border and Maggiano’s chains, according to its Web site.

Brinker started with a coffee shop in Dallas in the 1960s. He developed the concept for Steak & Ale casual restaurants, with its popular salad bars. He also developed the Bennigan’s chain.

He bought Chili’s and expanded it, taking his company public in 1983.