By: Bill Shannon, Addy Bink
Twenty years after closing all of its locations due to bankruptcy and a foodborne illness outbreak, a popular Mexican restaurant is looking to make a comeback.
Hormel Foods, who owns the trademark, worked out a deal to bring Chi-Chi’s back to life after every location closed in 2004.
The son of the founder of Chi-Chi’s, Michael McDermott, said in a press release that he hopes to honor his family’s legacy by combining the classic Mexican restaurant with modern influence.
The Chi-Chi’s brand was established in the 1970s by Marno McDermott and Max McGee, a former Green Bay Packers player. The brand, and its more than 200 locations, would change ownership several times through the next decades, Restaurant Business explains.
In late 2003, the brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A short time later, according to Restaurant Business, hepatitis A cases reported in the Pittsburgh area were traced back to green onions served at a Chi-Chi’s in a nearby Monaca, Pennsylvania, mall.
Overall, 660 people were sickened by the outbreak. Four people died, according to NBC. Roughly half of those who became ill sought damages against the company.
Tuesday’s press release did not provide any additional information on exactly when or where Chi-Chi’s restaurants will open in 2025.
McDermott built his career in the restaurant industry with brands like Kona Grill and Rojo Mexican Grill.
“I still have fond memories of growing up in the CHI-CHI’S™ restaurants that my father built throughout their time, instilling in me the passion and determination to pursue my own career in the restaurant industry,” said McDermott, who is now the founder of CHI-CHI’S™ Restaurants, LLC, the new company formed to revive the restaurants.
The collaboration between Hormel and McDermott is bound to make the ’80s and ’90s fans of Mexican food excited.
As Georgie once said in the hit TV show “Young Sheldon,” “It’s like a fancy Taco Bell.”
