The Deadly Outbreak That Chi-Chi's Wants You To Forget About

Chi-Chi's, a long-gone but not-forgotten Tex-Mex chain, has been attracting fresh attention following announcements that the restaurant will be making a comeback two decades after it closed its doors. In conjunction with Hormel, which owns the Chi-Chi's brand, the son of the original founder has expressed plans to rebuild the restaurant in 2025. While lots of restaurants are successfully capitalizing on the rising nostalgia wave, Chi-Chi's reputation faces a serious obstacle that could make a comeback difficult.

Appearing in our roundup of restaurant chains with the worst food poisoning outbreaks, Chi-Chi's legacy has been tarnished by an incident at a Pennsylvania location back in 2003. An outbreak of hepatitis A, which was ultimately attributed to contaminated green onions served by the restaurant, caused illness in 660 restaurant patrons, four of whom died due to its effects.

A type of viral infection that impacts the liver, hepatitis A is linked to symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and jaundice. Many who acquire the illness recover within weeks, but people with existing health issues or those who are older may experience more serious complications. Restaurants can take certain precautions to prevent hepatitis A infections, such as properly sanitizing work areas and practicing diligent handwashing. In Chi-Chi's case, however, the green onion contamination likely occurred well before the ingredient arrived at the restaurant.

According to a CDC report created at the time of the outbreak, patrons who visited a Chi-Chi's restaurant located in Monaca, Pennsylvania (just outside of Pittsburgh) experienced illness after consuming specific menu items. Of those impacted, 94% claimed to have eaten the chain's free mild salsa. An additional 15% fell ill after eating the restaurant's chili con queso, and the CDC ultimately determined that "only chili con queso and mild salsa were associated significantly with illness."

The agency pinpointed these items as the sources of the outbreak because they contained green onions that were "uncooked or minimally heated," whereas the green onions appearing in other dishes were fully cooked. You're actually more likely to get food poisoning from vegetables over meat, which highlights the importance of properly cooking veggies before adding them to recipes.

Whether or not the Chi-Chi's relaunch will manage to overcome this highly unfortunate event remains to be seen. It's worth mentioning, however, that on Reddit, an announcement regarding the restaurant's comeback was largely met with positive comments. One person enthusiastically wrote, "I can smell that friend ice cream!!!" while another said, "Outrageous Burrito or the Twice Grilled BBQ Burrito were my [faves]." While we wish the chain luck on a successful relaunch, there are some Chi-Chi's menu items that we'd rather not see return (looking at you, Yucatan-style pot roast and lobster enchiladas).