Chi-Chi's can either refer to a Mexican food restaurant chain founded in the United States in 1975, which continued in Europe only (as a

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

restaurant, under different ownership) 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

Chi-Chi's is a Mexican- restaurant chain operating in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The company was briefly owned by Tumbleweed, Inc. The chain also once operated in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

but exited those countries in 2004.

Founding

Chi-Chi's was founded in 1975 in

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling. An inner ring suburb of Minneapolis, it is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, ...

, a suburb of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, by restaurateur Marno McDermott (his wife's nickname was "Chi Chi") and former

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

player Max McGee. McDermott had previously founded the Zapata fast-food Mexican chain, which later became

Zantigo Zantigo is an American fast food restaurant chain serving Mexican food. It began operation in 1969 as Zapata, a restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota. With over 80 locations at its peak, Zantigo was sold to Taco Bell in 1986. Zantigo was re-establishe ...

. From 1977 to 1986, the chain was run by former KFC executive Shelly Frank. When Frank took leadership, the chain moved its headquarters to his hometown of Louisville. By March 1995, the chain had grown to 210 locations.

Management and marketing

In 2001, Chi-Chi's applied for a trademark on the word "salsafication" but was denied by the

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is an administrative tribunal within the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The TTAB is empowered to determine the right to register a trademark. It has no authority to determine the righ ...

. The company's slogans were "A celebration of food" and, later, "Life always needs a little salsa."

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

Chi-Chi's last owner while the company was still in business in the U.S. 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.Spector, Amy. ''Nation's Restaurant News. October 20, 2003. FindArticles.com. On October 8, 2003, Chi-Chi's and Koo Koo Roo, another Prandium subsidiary, filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

bankruptcy themselves. In November 2003, a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Chi-Chi's was hit with the largest

hepatitis A Hepatitis A is an infectious disease of the liver caused by ''Hepatovirus A'' (HAV); it is a type of viral hepatitis. Many cases have few or no symptoms, especially in the young. The time between infection and symptoms, in those who develop the ...

outbreak in U.S. history, with at least four deaths and 660 other victims of illness in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

area, including high school students who caught the disease from the original victims.. The hepatitis was traced back to

green onions "Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune i ...

at the Chi-Chi's at Beaver Valley Mall near Monaca, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Pittsburgh. Chi-Chi's settled the hepatitis A lawsuits by July 2004.. ''Nation's Restaurant News''. July 12, 2004. FindArticles.com. Accessed October 24, 2007. At the time the suits were settled, Chi-Chi's had only 65 restaurants, fewer than half of the number of four years prior. In August 2004,

Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants, serving American cuisine, based in Tampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North and South America, Asia, and Austral ...

bid $42.5 million 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. On the weekend of September 18, 2004, Chi-Chi's closed all 65 of its remaining restaurants. 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 A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

company in

New Hyde Park, New York New Hyde Park is a village in the Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the anchor community of the Greater New Hyde Park area. The population was 9,712 at the 2010 census. ...

Europe

Chi-Chi's master franchise now belongs to a Swiss company which franchises Chi-Chi's in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa, the best-represented country being Belgium, with 3 units. 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. The European-based company tried to expand into Denmark in 2011 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. Chi-Chi's expanded into

by opening their first restaurant in Vienna in 2018.

Grocery brand

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. 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. Besides salsas, the Chi-Chi's brand also include dips, tortillas, tortilla chips and taco seasoning mixes. 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.

References

{{Hormel Mexican restaurants Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1975 Restaurants disestablished in 2004 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003 Defunct restaurants in the United States Tex-Mex restaurants Hormel Foods brands 1975 establishments in Minnesota 2004 disestablishments in Minnesota American companies established in 1975 American companies disestablished in 2004