Chi-Chi’s is reborn in St. Louis Park, Minnesota 20 years after the chain closed

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (KFGO) – Chi-Chi’s, the Minnesota-born Mexican restaurant chain that served up its last chips and salsa about 20 years ago, made its return on Monday with a new Twin Cities location.

The reborn Chi-Chi’s opened in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Marno McDermott and former Green Bay Packer Max McGee founded the chain in 1975, and the first location opened in Richfield, Minnesota, in 1976. At its height, Chi-Chi’s boasted more than 200 locations across the U.S.

Over the following decades, the chain changed ownership several times before bankruptcy and a hepatitis A outbreak at a location near Pittsburgh led to the closing in 2004.

The restaurant announced a comeback last year, thanks to an agreement with Minnesota-based Hormel Foods, which has owned the Chi-Chi’s trademark since 1987. The deal allowed Michael McDermott, son of founder Marno, to use the name for physical locations. Michael McDermott announced the St. Louis Park spot earlier this year.

Other locations are under consideration. Chi-Chi’s at 1501 42nd Street South in Fargo closed in 2000 after 20 years.

A Buffalo Wild Wings now occupies that spot.