I expect Chi-Chi's is going to have a hard time, even without the food-safety legacy. The Mexican casual dining space has taken a big hit generally, with concepts like Don Pablo's and Tia's having gone under and others struggling. Fast-casual concepts like Chipotle and Moe's have taken a lot of that business.
Ray Schoenbaum, son of Shoney's founder Alex Schoenbaum, tried to restart his Rio Bravo Cantina chain in Atlanta a couple of years ago and it didn't make it past one restaurant. Ray had started Rio Bravo about 40 years ago, it did great and expanded locally, he sold out to Applebee's who had great success growing the chain, and Applebee's sold it to Chevys who ran it into the ground. Once Chevys' right to the name lapsed, Ray took it back for the restart.
On The Border (originally owned by Brinker) has been passed around private equity and has closed a bunch of locations, and Chuy's just sold out to Darden.
I know the CEO of an Atlanta-based restaurant group that started with a casual dining Mexican concept, and while they have stayed local while expanding into the white-tablecloth fine dining market with other concepts with great success, that one concept of theirs has been struggling, primarily due to other non-Mexican concepts adding Mexican entrees to their menu (capturing parties that want AND don't want Mexican) and the difficulty of continuing to offer casual-dining Mexican at a "traditional" price point while competing with Chipotle, etc.
Great insights and history! Thank you for sharing. I find the Rio Brava Cantina comparison particularly interesting and relevant in the context of the Chi-Chi's news. I have to agree with your analysis -- it's spot on. This is a much tougher and complex market than the one that existed during Chi-Chi's glory days, and the road back is going to be a hard one. I see lots of stories about plans to revive defunct brands, and there's always much excitement around it ... and then ... nada. There's a reason the brand is gone, and nostalgia's shoulders are hardly strong enough to prop up a few restaurants, much less a few hundred. But I'm prepared to be surprised!
What I'm curious to see about the relaunch is how they approach marketing and design--will we go back to the commercials in the 90s that were so memorable? Will the buildings reference the designs of the original restaurants? I can't see it succeeding if they go for the cheap, corporate box look, but if you can make Millennial parents feel like they're going back to their favorite Mexican restaurant when they were kids, it could do well.
Great points, Elizabeth, and thank you for sharing that link! It reminds me that at some point in the past few years, I photographed a Chi-Chi's label scar in a shopping plaza, and I can't remember where for the life of me. My usual handy word search in the various clouds where I store my photos failed me. That photo would have been perfect for this post!
I have to say, that when I sent the article about Chi-Chi’s to friends this week when I first saw it, it got the most reaction out of anything I have sent. Even my sister, who hardly gets excited about these things, is pumped for fried ice-cream. I will be there if they open one in my area.
Indeed, Matt, this has caused tremendous excitement! I'd be so there as well ... but trying to keep my expectations in line. We'll see how this plays out!
I would absolutely go to a Chi-Chi’s if there was one near me; my family (really just my parents) didn’t eat Mexican food back then, but the nostalgia factor has a lot of power right now if it’s marketed correctly.
I expect Chi-Chi's is going to have a hard time, even without the food-safety legacy. The Mexican casual dining space has taken a big hit generally, with concepts like Don Pablo's and Tia's having gone under and others struggling. Fast-casual concepts like Chipotle and Moe's have taken a lot of that business.
Ray Schoenbaum, son of Shoney's founder Alex Schoenbaum, tried to restart his Rio Bravo Cantina chain in Atlanta a couple of years ago and it didn't make it past one restaurant. Ray had started Rio Bravo about 40 years ago, it did great and expanded locally, he sold out to Applebee's who had great success growing the chain, and Applebee's sold it to Chevys who ran it into the ground. Once Chevys' right to the name lapsed, Ray took it back for the restart.
On The Border (originally owned by Brinker) has been passed around private equity and has closed a bunch of locations, and Chuy's just sold out to Darden.
I know the CEO of an Atlanta-based restaurant group that started with a casual dining Mexican concept, and while they have stayed local while expanding into the white-tablecloth fine dining market with other concepts with great success, that one concept of theirs has been struggling, primarily due to other non-Mexican concepts adding Mexican entrees to their menu (capturing parties that want AND don't want Mexican) and the difficulty of continuing to offer casual-dining Mexican at a "traditional" price point while competing with Chipotle, etc.
Great insights and history! Thank you for sharing. I find the Rio Brava Cantina comparison particularly interesting and relevant in the context of the Chi-Chi's news. I have to agree with your analysis -- it's spot on. This is a much tougher and complex market than the one that existed during Chi-Chi's glory days, and the road back is going to be a hard one. I see lots of stories about plans to revive defunct brands, and there's always much excitement around it ... and then ... nada. There's a reason the brand is gone, and nostalgia's shoulders are hardly strong enough to prop up a few restaurants, much less a few hundred. But I'm prepared to be surprised!
The Chi-Chis news reminded me of one of my favorite blogs back in the day: Creepy, Abandoned Chi Chis which sadly hasn't been updated since 2014 but it's still a hoot: https://creepyabandonedchichis.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-09-04T08:36:00-07:00
What I'm curious to see about the relaunch is how they approach marketing and design--will we go back to the commercials in the 90s that were so memorable? Will the buildings reference the designs of the original restaurants? I can't see it succeeding if they go for the cheap, corporate box look, but if you can make Millennial parents feel like they're going back to their favorite Mexican restaurant when they were kids, it could do well.
Great points, Elizabeth, and thank you for sharing that link! It reminds me that at some point in the past few years, I photographed a Chi-Chi's label scar in a shopping plaza, and I can't remember where for the life of me. My usual handy word search in the various clouds where I store my photos failed me. That photo would have been perfect for this post!
I have to say, that when I sent the article about Chi-Chi’s to friends this week when I first saw it, it got the most reaction out of anything I have sent. Even my sister, who hardly gets excited about these things, is pumped for fried ice-cream. I will be there if they open one in my area.
Indeed, Matt, this has caused tremendous excitement! I'd be so there as well ... but trying to keep my expectations in line. We'll see how this plays out!
Is the Rest Haven Court a reflagged Holiday Inn, or did they just imitate the Great Sign?
Nope, very much an original sign from the early 1950s. But undoubtedly inspired by. Roadarch.com has more: https://www.roadarch.com/signs/mospring.html
Great reading. Thanks!
So appreciate that! They are a good bit of work! :)
I was thinking that. But good work and good writing
Thank you so much!
I would absolutely go to a Chi-Chi’s if there was one near me; my family (really just my parents) didn’t eat Mexican food back then, but the nostalgia factor has a lot of power right now if it’s marketed correctly.