WPBN: A well-known Mexican restaurant is trying to reopen after closing all of its locations owing to bankruptcy and a foodborne illness epidemic twenty years ago.
The trademark’s owner, Hormel Foods, negotiated an agreement to revive Chi-Chi’s after all of its locations shuttered in 2004.
In a news release, Michael McDermott, the son of Chi-Chi’s founder, stated that he wants to uphold his family’s heritage by fusing the traditional Mexican eatery with contemporary elements.
Max McGee, a former Green Bay Packers player, and Marno McDermott founded the Chi-Chi’s brand in the 1970s. According to Restaurant Business, the company and its more than 200 sites will see multiple ownership changes over the ensuing decades.
The brand declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of 2003. Hepatitis A cases recorded in the Pittsburgh area were eventually linked to green onions served at a Chi-Chi’s in a local mall in Monaca, Pennsylvania, according to Restaurant Business.
The outbreak infected 660 persons in total including four fatalities. Approximately 50% of individuals who fell ill sued the business for damages.
Chi-Chi’s formally closed in 2004. Hormel Foods purchased the trademark and uses it to make Mexican food.
No other details regarding the precise opening dates or locations of Chi-Chi’s restaurants in 2025 were included in the news statement issued on Tuesday.
With companies like Rojo Mexican Grill and Kona Grill, McDermott established his career in the restaurant business.
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McDermott, who is currently the founder of CHI-CHI’S™ Restaurants, LLC, the new company created to revitalize the restaurants, said, “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.”
Hormel and McDermott’s partnership is sure to thrill Mexican food enthusiasts from the 1980s and 1990s.
