Chi-Chi’s Is Back After 20 Years! A Look at the Iconic Mexican Restaurant’s Most Beloved Menu Items
Celebrate Chi-Chi’s return with a nostalgic look at their fan-favorite dishes, from fried ice cream to margaritas
After 20 years away, Chi-Chi’s is gearing up for a 2025 comeback, reigniting the nostalgia of Tex-Mex fans nationwide. From iconic menu items to unforgettable memories, here’s what we know about their return—and the dishes we’re hoping to see again.
Everything we know about Chi-Chi’s return
Tex-Mex fans around the U.S. are giddy over an announcement from owner Hormel Foods on Tuesday that Chi Chi’s would be making a comeback in 2025.
The iconic chain of Mexican restaurants was started in Minnesota in 1975 by Marno McDermott and Green Bay Packers player Max McGee. Now, however, the son of the chain’s co-founder, Michael McDermott, will be using the Chi-Chi’s name to open new restaurants.
Where will Chi-Chi’s be reopening?
The list of locations for the restaurants is still unknown at this point, with little word on how many will be ready for the first round of openings. Before the chain closed in the U.S. completely in 2003, it had more than 200 restaurants.
In October of that year, Chi-Chi’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and even sold its flagship restaurant in Richfield, Minnesota.
Only a month later, there was a hepatitis A outbreak (the largest in U.S. history) at a Pittsburgh-area restaurant. About 650 people were sickened and four died from what was later determined to be contaminated green onions.
Outback Steakhouse then bought Chi-Chi’s for $40 million and closed the remaining restaurants. According to CNN, the locations were converted to restaurants owned by Outback’s parent company.
A look back at Chi-Chi’s menu and how the new restaurants will differ
Fans of the chain will have to wait a bit longer to find out what will be included on the menu—and what will be the same (or different) about these new restaurants. But a press release reveals that McDermott plans to “preserve [the] same great taste [and] Mexican flavors” with this updated version of the brand.
In the meantime, here’s a look back at some of Chi-Chi’s most popular menu offerings from its original business.
Fried Ice Cream
In a 1991 menu photo posted on Reddit, Chi-Chi’s Mexican “Fried” Ice cream was considered a specialty for the restaurant. It was described as “French vanilla ice cream covered with our special crunch cinnamon coating, fried and topped with your choice of toppings and served on a flaky flour tortilla.”
“How could they have fallen with fried ice cream like that!” one Reddit user commented.
Catch a glimpse of the ice cream in the ad below:
Sopaipillas
Another popular dessert item? The sopaipillas, which were described in the 90s as “flaky puffs of pastry with your choice of toppings for dipping.” These fried dough pastries were beloved by many patrons. “Sopapillas with chocolate sauce. Dammit, those were amazing,” shared another Reddit commenter.
Margaritas
Margaritas are a common staple at Mexican restaurants, but what made Chi-Chi’s drink options (with flavor offerings like original, strawberry and peach in one throwback menu) so special was their sheer size. “Margaritas the size of your head,” reads one comment on Reddit.
Mexican Pizza
Taco Bell isn’t the only Mexican chain to have a beloved pizza option! “I’d always get their Mexican Pizza. It was such a simple thing, but I loved it,” shared one person.
In fact, it was so popular that multiple copycat recipes exist online for those looking to recreate it at home. Most variations appear to include ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and chiles.
Seafood Nachos
Nachos are another popular Mexican restaurant staple, but former Chi-Chi’s fans particularly long for one of the chain’s variations. “The seafood nachos were my favorite,” said a Reddit commentor. These reportedly included ingredients like imitation crab meat, sour cream and mayonnaise on top of tortilla chips.
Like the Mexican Pizza, many copycat recipes still circulate online. Even the Chi-Chi’s Facebook page posted a link in 2022 for a cheesy seafood nacho recipe.
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