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Chi-Chi's

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Chi-Chi's
Product type
  • Tex-Mex restaurant chain (Europe)
  • Mexican-style grocery items (United States)
Owner
  • unclear (European restaurant chain)
  • MegaMex Foods (grocery items)
Country
  • Belgium (restaurant chain)
  • United States (grocery items)
Introduced1976; 48 years ago (1976) (as Mexican-food US restaurant)
Markets
  • Europe (restaurants)
  • United States (grocery items)
Website
Chi-Chi's
(North America)
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedAugust 1976; 48 years ago (1976-08)
Richfield, Minnesota, U.S. (original)
2025; 1 year's time (2025) (revival)
DefunctSeptember 18, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-09-18) (original shutdown, as restaurants in the U.S. and Canada)
FateClosed (as restaurants in the U.S. and Canada)
ProductsMexican food
Websitewww.chichis.at

Chi-Chi's can either refer to a defunct Mexican food restaurant chain founded in the United States in 1976, which continued in Europe only as a single restaurant after the North American owner declared bankruptcy and folded in 2004, or to its namesake brand of Mexican food grocery products produced and marketed when the original North American restaurant chain owner sold the rights to use its name on said products in 1987.

Restaurant chain

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Chi-Chi's is a single Mexican restaurant currently operating in Vienna, Austria, that is the only remnant left of a much larger chain.[1] The company was briefly owned by Tumbleweed, Inc.[2][failed verification] The chain also once operated in the United States and Canada but exited those countries in 2004, and closed their German and Belgian locations in 2022.[1]

Founding

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Chi-Chi's was founded by restaurateur Marno McDermott (his wife's nickname was "Chi Chi"[3]) and former Green Bay Packers player Max McGee. The first restaurant opened at 7717 Nicollet Avenue South, in Richfield, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis) in early August, 1976. McDermott had previously founded the Zapata fast-food Mexican chain, which later became Zantigo.[4] From 1977 to 1986, the chain was run by former KFC executive Shelly Frank.[5] When Frank took leadership, the chain moved its headquarters to his hometown of Louisville. By March 1995, the chain had grown to 210 locations.[6]

Management and marketing

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In 2001, Chi-Chi's applied for a trademark[7] on the word "salsafication" but was denied by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The company's slogans were "A celebration of food" and, later, "Life always needs a little salsa."[4]

Bankruptcy, hepatitis A, and closure in United States and Canada

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Chi-Chi's last owner while the company was still in business in the United States and Canada was Prandium Inc., which had filed for bankruptcy several times, including in 1993 as Restaurant Enterprises Group Inc. and again in 2002 as Prandium.[8] On October 8, 2003, Chi-Chi's and Koo Koo Roo, another Prandium subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy themselves.[8] The flagship Chi-Chi's restaurant in Richfield, Minnesota was put up for sale in October 2003.

In November 2003, a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Chi-Chi's was hit with the largest hepatitis A outbreak in American history, with at least four deaths and 660 other victims of illness in the Pittsburgh area,[9] including high school students who caught the disease from the original victims.[10] The hepatitis was traced back to green onions at the Chi-Chi's at Beaver Valley Mall near Monaca, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh.[11] Chi-Chi's settled the hepatitis A lawsuits by July 2004.[12] At the time the suits were settled, Chi-Chi's had only 65 restaurants, fewer than half of the number of four years prior.[13]

In August 2004, Outback Steakhouse bid $42.5 million[14] for the rights to buy its choice of Chi-Chi's 76 properties, but did not purchase the Chi-Chi's name, operations, or recipes.[15] On the weekend of September 18, 2004, Chi-Chi's closed all 65 of its remaining restaurants.[13] Outback had hoped to convert many of the properties to its own restaurants, but instead eventually sold the majority of the properties to Kimco Realty Corporation, a real estate investment trust company in New Hyde Park, New York.[16]

Revival

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On December 3, 2024, it was announced that the restaurant chain will re-launch in the United States in 2025.[17] Michael McDermott, son of original owner, Marno McDermott, will lead and operate the new restaurants under Chi-Chi's Restaurants, LLC. Hormel Foods, the current owner of the Chi-Chi's trademark, has allowed the use of the Chi-Chi's name for the physical restaurant locations.[18]

Europe

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Chi-Chi's restaurant in Brussels (2011)

In 2002, Francis Leroy of Belgium purchased the master franchise for Belgium, and later the master franchises for Europe in 2008, North Africa in 2011, and China in 2012.[19]

The European-based company tried to expand into Denmark in 2011[20] but no reliable citation can be found when the Danish restaurants were closed.

In the first half of 2015, the chain in Belgium had to close five under-performing restaurants.[21]

Chi-Chi's expanded into Austria by opening their first restaurant in Vienna in 2018.[22]

The last snapshot of the European chain's official website in January 2022 showed that the company had three locations left, two in Liege and one in Brugge, all in Belgium.[23] There is no evidence that the website was active much beyond May 2022.[24] The Brugge location announced on Facebook that it was closing in October 2022.[25]

Grocery brand

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In 1987, Hormel Foods acquired the rights to produce and market Chi-Chi's branded salsa and related products in the United States. By 1996, Hormel was making $60-million annually from this product line.[26] In 2009, Hormel formed a 50%-50% joint venture with Mexico-based food manufacturer Herdez Del Fuerte called MegaMex Foods, LLC, to manufacture and distribute Mexican food products in the United States. The Chi-Chi's brand was placed in this new company along with other related food brands such as Herdez, La Victoria and Búfalo brands.[27] Besides salsas, the Chi-Chi's brand also include dips, tortillas, tortilla chips and taco seasoning mixes.[28][29] Chi-Chi's branded food products are usually found in major supermarkets and discount stores.

In April 2021, MegaMex hired a TikTok personality to be their Chi-Chi's brand ambassador for that year's Cinco de Mayo advertising period.[30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "What the Hell Happened to Chi-Chi's?". The Takeout. 2022-10-12. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  2. ^ "Chi-Chi's Brand FAQ". Hormel Foods. Archived from the original on 2017-08-20. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  3. ^ "Chi-Chi's Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Chi-Chi's Inc". www.referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  4. ^ a b "Chi-Chi's Inc". Funding Universe. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  5. ^ Schoifet, Mark (January 27, 1986). "Frank exits Chi-Chi's, plans early retirement". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  6. ^ Benmour, Eric (June 14, 1996). "Chi-Chi's closes oldest store here as pullback continues". Business First of Louisville. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  7. ^ "Salsafication trademark application" (PDF). Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  8. ^ a b Spector, Amy. Nation's Restaurant News.' October 20, 2003. FindArticles.com.
  9. ^ "Hepatitis A outbreak claims its 4th victim". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). April 4, 2004. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
  10. ^ . "Hepatitis A outbreak spreads to students". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). December 14, 2003. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Business at Beaver Valley Mall Chi-Chi's nearly back - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 15, 2004.
  12. ^ . Nation's Restaurant News. July 12, 2004. FindArticles.com. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  13. ^ a b Lockyer, Sarah E. (October 4, 2004). "Chi-Chi's Inc. said adios last month and shuttered till 65 of its Mexican dinnerhouses as Outback Steakhouse I". Nation's Restaurant News.
  14. ^ "Outback to Buy 76 Chi-Chi's". The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida). 5 August 2004. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Outback Steakhouse to rebrand Chi-Chi's". USA Today. 23 September 2004. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Chi-Chi's plans $35.2m sale of outlets, leases". Nation's Restaurant News. 5 July 2004. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Chi-Chi's Restaurants Set For Come Back After Two Decades" (Press Release). PR Newswire. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  18. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (December 4, 2024). "Chi-Chi's is making a comeback 20 years after its last restaurant closed". CNN. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  19. ^ Anne, Masset (May 5, 2014). "Le gringo d'ici" [The gringo from here]. La Libre Belgique (in French).
  20. ^ Vammen, Hanne. "Første Chi-Chi's i Skandinavien er åbnet i Aarhus: Jeppe Stærk og Henrik Overgaard vil åbne yderligere fem restauranter i Danmark og 40 i Skandinavien" [The first Chi-Chi's in Scandinavia has opened in Aarhus: Jeppe Stærk and Henrik Overgaard will open another five restaurants in Denmark and 40 in Scandinavia]. Lokalavisen Aarhus (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2021-02-16.
  21. ^ Godard, Sarah (May 22, 2015). "Chi-Chi's fait le ménage en Belgique" [Chi-Chi's cleans up in Belgium] (in French).
  22. ^ "Chi-Chi's: Tex Mex Restaurant kommt zu uns" [Chi-Chi's: Tex Mex Restaurant comes to us]. OE24 Netzwerk (in Austrian German). September 17, 2018.
  23. ^ "Restaurants". Chi-Chi's Europe. Archived from the original on 2022-01-26.
  24. ^ "Chi-Chi's". Chi-Chi's Europe. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20.
  25. ^ "Misschien hadden jullie het al vernomen, maar het gaat niet zo goed met de gezondheid van Chris" [You may have already heard, but Chris's health is not doing so well.]. Chi Chi's Brugge (in Dutch). September 2, 2022.
  26. ^ Lazarus, George (February 26, 1996). "Hormel joins forces with Mexican salsa maker". Chicago Tribune.
  27. ^ Dorfman, Brad (June 19, 2009). "Hormel, Herdez Del Fuerte form U.S. food venture". Reuters.
  28. ^ "Chi-Chi's". MegaMex Foods. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  29. ^ Caramanna, Carly (March 11, 2021). "The Untold Truth Of Chi-Chi's". Mashed.com.
  30. ^ "The Makers of the CHI-CHI'S® Brand Announce First-Ever "Chief Tortilla Officer" in Celebration of Cinco de Mayo". WFMZ-TV. April 30, 2021.
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