Chi-chi’s, the Mexican restaurant chain born in Minnesota which served its last fries and salsa about 20 years ago, returned on Monday with a new location of Twin Cities.
The Chi-Chi Reborn opened in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, at 11 a.m., the reservations for the opening day were completely reserved.
On Monday morning, one of the first customers through the door was Debbie Krupppa, who entered Ohio.
“My sister, when she was younger, I took her to Chi-chi every Friday evening,” said Kruppa. “It was our thing. And we would eat so much that we were so full after, but we had to get (fried ice). And then when I met my husband, he also loved chi-chi, so we came here all the time.”
Marl McDermott and the former Green Bay Max McGee Packer founded the channel in 1975, and the first location opened its doors in Richfield, Minnesota, in 1976. At its peak, Chi-chi boasted more than 200 locations across the United States
During the decades that followed, the chain changed the property several times before bankruptcy and an epidemic of hepatitis in a place near Pittsburgh sounded its death knell in 2004.
The restaurant announced a return last yearThanks to an agreement with Hormel Foods, based in Minnesota, which has owned the Chi-chi brand since 1987. The agreement allowed Michael McDermott, the son of Marll McDermott, to use the name for physical locations. Michael McDermott announced the spot of St. Louis Park Earlier this year. It is located at 1602 West End Blvd.
Cole Premo contributed to this report.