Montana has a quota on the number of people who can hold a liquor license, and of course, you need one to open a major dining chain like Chili's Grill and Bar, because they serve alcohol. Billings had a population of 104,170 in 2010, and an estimated 110,263 people in 2015. Almost every city the size of Billings and bigger hosts a Chili's; There are 1,580 restaurants worldwide, about 1,250 in the USA alone, in 49 states; they were in all 50 states until Oregon closed their last restaurants last year. Chili's opened in Helena and Great Falls in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Montana's largest city needs to have Chili's like every other city. There were 106 all-beverage licenses in Billings in an August 2014 article, and Montana had the second highest number of liquor licenses per capita in a January 2015 article, so clearly someone in Billings can open a Chili's.

I emailed corporate and they said Billings was not an area they were looking to set up a store in. If enough of us lobby for one, Chili's can surely make it in Billings! Then you can order a basket of chips and salsa, and enjoy their unique chicken crispers, and their enchiladas and fajitas, and add more Southwest flavor to Billings!