EAT Brinker International Inc

DALLAS, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) recently honored six companies with its annual Outstanding Vendor Awards. The honorees were selected from a pool of more than 700 vendors who provide thousands of products to Brinker International and its four restaurant brands: Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Maggiano's Little Italy and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina. Winners were chosen based on exceptional performance against a number of metrics, including product innovation and savings, performance in third-party audits, compliance with product specifications, order fulfillment and on-time deliveries, quality assurance and customer service. Brinker International's 2006 Outstanding Vendor recipients: * Ben E. Keith, Fort Worth, TX (http://www.benekeith.com/ ) - Ben E. Keith distributes frozen, refrigerated and dry foods to all Brinker restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Kansas. The company has been a Brinker vendor for 16 years. Post Hurricane Katrina, Ben E. Keith provided relief trucks filled with food, water and other supplies to impacted Brinker restaurants and employees. Additionally, they assist with Brinker's annual support of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament. * Digital Document Services, Carrollton, TX (http://www.ddsep.com/ ) - Digital Document Services produces digitally printed materials, including posters, business cards and guest comment cards. Digital Document Services has been working with Brinker for more than 10 years. * Image Solutions Apparel, Torrance, CA (http://www.eimagesolutions.com/ ) - Image Solutions Apparel provides embroidered and silk-screened shirts and t-shirts to all four Brinker brands for work attire. Image Solutions Apparel built a virtual online store, allowing Brinker managers to order products 24 hours a day. The company has been a Brinker supplier since 2002. * Joseph's Pasta Company, Haverhill, MA (http://www.josephsgourmetpasta.com/ ) - Joseph's Pasta Company began providing the Romano's Macaroni Grill and Maggiano's Little Italy brands with signature ravioli and pastas since 1999. * Pilgrim's Pride, Pittsburg, TX (http://www.pilgrimspride.com/ ) - Pilgrim's Pride is the second largest poultry company in the U.S. and Mexico. For more than 20 years, Pilgrim's Pride has supplied high quality poultry products to Brinker restaurant brands. * Syracuse's Sausage Company, Ponder, TX (http://www.syracusesausage.com/ ) - Syracuse's Sausage, a family-owned and run company, provides premium meatballs and sausage to several Brinker brands. In addition, this company has assisted with management of the Brinker Pavilion at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament every year for 10 consecutive years. Brinker has been a client of Syracuse's Sausage for more than 13 years. "In an ever-changing environment, these vendors have worked closely with us to ensure our customers receive the consistent, high quality dining experience they've come expect from Brinker International," said Happy Webberman, Executive Vice President of Brand Solutions. "We are pleased to have suppliers such as Ben E. Keith, Digital Document Services, Image Solutions Apparel, Joseph's Pasta Company, Pilgrim's Pride and Syracuse's Sausage Company on our team." Brinker International, Inc. is one of the world's leading casual dining restaurant companies, serving more than 1 million guests daily. Founded in 1975 and based in Dallas, Brinker owns or franchises more than 1,600 restaurants in 24 countries and employs more than 100,000. Brinker restaurant brands include Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Maggiano's Little Italy. In 2006, the company was named one of FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired Companies and was also honored by the magazine as one of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities and the Top 50 Employers for Women. For more information visit http://www.brinker.com/ . DATASOURCE: Brinker International, Inc. CONTACT: Stacey Calbert of Brinker International, Inc., +1-800-775-7298 Web site: http://www.brinker.com/ http://www.benekeith.com/ http://www.ddsep.com/ http://www.eimagesolutions.com/ http://www.josephsgourmetpasta.com/ http://www.pilgrimspride.com/ http://www.syracusesausage.com/

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