Chi-Chi's
Encyclopedia
Chi-Chi's was a popular Mexican
restaurant
chain from 1975 to 2004. It ceased to exist within the United States
following a 2003 Hepatitis A
outbreak that began at one of its locations in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. Chi-Chi's is still in operation in Belgium
, Luxembourg
, United Arab Emirates
, Kuwait
, Indonesia
and Canada
. Chi-Chi's also marketed a line of grocery foods (later purchased by Hormel
) with an emphasis on salsa
.
, a suburb of Minneapolis by restaurateur Marno McDermott and former Green Bay Packers
player Max McGee
.
From 1977 to 1986, the chain was run by former KFC
executive Shelly Frank
. When Frank came on, the chain moved its headquarters to Frank's hometown of Louisville.
By March 1995, the chain had grown to 210 locations.
.
The company's slogans were "A celebration of food" and, later, "Life Always Needs a Little Salsa."
In November 2003, a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Chi-Chi's was hit with the largest hepatitis A
outbreak in U.S. history, with at least four deaths and 660 other victims of illness in the Pittsburgh
area, including high school students who caught the disease from the original victims. The hepatitis was traced back to green onions
at the Chi-Chi's at Beaver Valley Mall
in Monaca, Pennsylvania
, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. Chi-Chi's settled the hepatitis A lawsuits by July 2004. At the time the suits were settled, Chi-Chi's only had 65 restaurants, less than half of the number from only four years before.
In August 2004, Outback Steakhouse
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 their 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
.
Hormel Foods, who had bought the rights to use the Chi-Chi's brand on grocery products, continues to produce Chi-Chi's salsa and related products, and uses the chichis.com domain name
to market them.
Several Chi-Chi's restaurants operate in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Kuwait, with much of the original menu intact. Chi-Chi's Belgium was a subsidiary of the now defunct Chi-Chi's United States, but was spun off when Chi-Chi's filed for Chapter 11.
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine, a style of food that originates in Mexico, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration and variety of spices and ingredients, most of which are native to the country. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through thousands of years of blending indigenous cultures, with later...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
chain from 1975 to 2004. It ceased to exist within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
following a 2003 Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
outbreak that began at one of its locations in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. Chi-Chi's is still in operation in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Chi-Chi's also marketed a line of grocery foods (later purchased by Hormel
Hormel
Hormel Foods Corporation is a food company based in southeastern Minnesota , perhaps best known as the producer of Spam luncheon meat. The company was founded as George A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota, U.S., by George A. Hormel in 1891. The company changed its name to Hormel Foods...
) with an emphasis on salsa
Salsa (sauce)
Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
.
Founding
Chi-Chi's was founded in 1975 in Richfield, MinnesotaRichfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,439 people, 15,073 households, and 8,727 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,993.9 people per square mile . There were 15,357 housing units at an average density of 2,226.9 per square mile...
, a suburb of Minneapolis by restaurateur Marno McDermott and former Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
player Max McGee
Max McGee
William Max McGee was a professional football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1954-67. He served as the team's punter during a few years of his career. McGee may be best known for his performance during the first Super Bowl game. Prior to his NFL career, he played college...
.
From 1977 to 1986, the chain was run by former KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
executive Shelly Frank
Shelly Frank
Shelly Frank is a United States restaurant executive best known as the former head of the Mexican fast food franchise Chi-Chi's, serving as its CEO, Chairman, and President from 1977 to 1986...
. When Frank came on, the chain moved its headquarters to Frank's 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 BoardTrademark Trial and Appeal Board
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is a body within the United States Patent and Trademark Office responsible for hearing and deciding certain kinds of cases involving trademarks. These include appeals from decisions by USPTO Examiners denying registration of marks, and opposition proceedings...
.
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
Chi-Chi's last owner while still in business in the U.S. was Prandium Inc., which had filed for bankruptcy several times, including in 1993 as Restaurant Enterprises Group Inc. and in 2002 as Prandium. On October 8, 2003, Chi-Chi's and Koo Koo Roo, another Prandium subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11 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
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
outbreak in U.S. history, with at least four deaths and 660 other victims of illness in the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
area, including high school students who caught the disease from the original victims. The hepatitis was traced back to green onions
Scallion
Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
at the Chi-Chi's at Beaver Valley Mall
Beaver Valley Mall
Beaver Valley Mall opened in 1970 as a regional shopping mall, located in Monaca, Pennsylvania. Its anchors are Boscov's, Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Macy's, Sears and offers over 100 stores and a food court.-Anchor retailers:...
in Monaca, Pennsylvania
Monaca, Pennsylvania
Monaca is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States along the Ohio River, northwest of Pittsburgh. Monaca was first incorporated as Phillipsburg in 1840, and had been known by that name since the 1820s. In 1892, the name of the borough was changed to Monaca in honor of the Native...
, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. Chi-Chi's settled the hepatitis A lawsuits by July 2004. At the time the suits were settled, Chi-Chi's only had 65 restaurants, less than half of the number from only four years before.
In August 2004, Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse is an American casual dining restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida with over 1200 locations in 22 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was founded in February 1988 in Tampa by Bob Basham, Chris T...
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 their own restaurants, but instead eventually sold the majority of the properties to Kimco Realty Corporation
Kimco Realty Corporation
Kimco Realty Corporation, , a Real Estate Investment Trust , owns and operates North America’s largest portfolio of neighborhood and community shopping centers. As of September 30, 2011, the company owned interests in 937 shopping center properties comprising 137,100,000 sqft of leasable space...
, a real estate investment trust
Real estate investment trust
A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...
company in New Hyde Park, New York
New Hyde Park, New York
New Hyde Park is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island.The population of the Village of New Hyde Park was 9,712 at the 2010 census...
.
Hormel Foods, who had bought the rights to use the Chi-Chi's brand on grocery products, continues to produce Chi-Chi's salsa and related products, and uses the chichis.com domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
to market them.
Several Chi-Chi's restaurants operate in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Kuwait, with much of the original menu intact. Chi-Chi's Belgium was a subsidiary of the now defunct Chi-Chi's United States, but was spun off when Chi-Chi's filed for Chapter 11.