Let the salsabration begin again! In a story titled “Is Chi-Chi’s coming back? 20 years after fatal Pennsylvania outbreak, Chi-Chi’s may return” the Beaver County Times reports that Hormel Foods, the owners of the defunct Tex-Mex chain’s intellectual property and still market it as a brand for salsa and other Mexican snack foods products, have okayed a return after a deadly hepatitis A outbreak traced to green onions served at a location in the town of Monaco in Beaver County.
“For Beaver County residents, Chi-Chi’s holds a unique place in local history. At its peak, Chi-Chi’s operated more than 200 stores, but that number was down by about half in the early 2000s. When the outbreak happened, Chi-Chi’s had already been in a tailspin and was shedding locations in a bid to stay afloat,” the Times wrote. Yeah that sure is a unique place in local history. “There’s no word yet on where the new Chi-Chi’s restaurants would be located or when they would open,” the paper’s report continues and yeah they probably won’t be relaunching in the area given that history.
Chi-Chi’s is the second major brand to have collapsed in ignominy in the early 2000s reported to be gearing up for a relaunch this week, following the bizarre and questionable resurfacing of Enron.