I'm pretty sure they all disappeared after that Hep A outbreak a few years ago.

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They all closed in 2003 following a Hepatitis outbreak. They still sell bottled foods under their brand, though. Near me, the Findlay, Ohio Chi-Chi's was renovated into an independent Mexican restaurant (looking almost identical to before), and the Bowling Green, Ohio restaurant is completely unchanged from the outside. It's right off the side of a highway and still looks like it's open, except that it's, well.. not.

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The one in Livonia, Michigan at last check was still abandoned. It was a horrible location for a restaurant with horrible food.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi-Chi's
Apparently they still operate in Luxembourg and Belgium.. why?

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For years, it was a joke in my family that my presence on a trip to Chi-Chi's guaranteed a birthday celebration at a nearby table, and often even worked at other restaurants with similar practices. Thankfully, the effect has faded.

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where is this abandoned chi chis?

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In Marion, Indiana, our Chi-Chi's was renovated into a Pizza Hut Italian Bistro/WingStreet. It's basically a hybrid Pizza Hut/sports bar with bad italian food (most of it, anyways).

Chi-Chi's did have the best fried ice cream ever. I would love to have some of that stuff again.

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I always thought that the name was sooooo stupid - in slang (Spanish) chi chi s means tits...

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Hmm. Funny to see the Miller Road, Flint location empty. Isn't it right next to a busy Fuddruckers (and maybe Bennigans) and such?

Do people just drive past an abandoned, huge Chi-Chis to get to Fuddruckers?

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The chi-chi's in Richfield, MN is now a huge Chinese Restaurant.

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In Marion, Indiana, our Chi-Chi's was renovated into a Pizza Hut Italian Bistro/WingStreet. It's basically a hybrid Pizza Hut/sports bar with bad italian food (most of it, anyways).

Chi-Chi's did have the best fried ice cream ever. I would love to have some of that stuff again.

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A rather large Chi Chi's in Richfield, MN became this well-reviewed purveyor of dim sum: http://www.jun-bo.com/

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I remember liking it in the late 80s because it had the only decent salsa of the chain places. But, Hep A is good too if you aren't really interested in keeping the place open.

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Ah, such fond memories...we'd go to Chi-Chi's on the rare occasions we would get out of our tiny rural town and into such sophisticated urban settings as Grand Forks, ND, usually for a school trip or the yearly piano contests at UND. Good times. We were really something, then boy howdy! My friend Patrick named his poodle Chi Chi.

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that abandoned chilis blogspot site reminds me of the creepy abandoned strip mall site I saw last year. are abandoned gathering spots another indicator that the fabric of our society is unraveling?

if so, good. :)

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I worked at a Chi-Chi's in Cincinnati during my formative youth years and remember greasy floors, awful uniforms, and dishwashers smoking pot out back by the trash.

I proposed to my wife at a Chi-Chi's in Indiana. At the time, it was the only cheap and half way decent margarita in town.

I don't miss the food or the restaurant, but I do miss the drinks.

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