Are You The One That Will Bring Chi-Chi's Back to Connecticut?

Have you seen the sponsored ad in your social media feed for Chi-Chi's Restaurants? It's been years in the making, but a piece of our past may be on the way back.

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News broke last year that the rights to a piece of our childhood had been purchased in hopes that a former iconic name in American restaurants could be re-booted. Well, Minnesota got the first two, but will you be the one to bring back Chi-Chi's Restaurants to Connecticut?

Chi-Chi's had multiple locations in Connecticut, most of New England, and across the country from 1976 until 2004. What did them in? According to wikipedia.com, the nail in Chi-Chi's coffin over 20 years ago was the largest hepatitis A outbreak in US history. The outbreak was traced back to green onions that were served at a Chi-Chi's Restaurant outside of Pittsburgh. In August 2004 the company was sold, and all 65 remaining restaurants closed shortly thereafter. One remained in Vienna, Austria until last year, but there is hope on the horizon.

Startengine.com is where the current owners of Chi-Chi's have put out their call for restaurant entrepreneurs to invest in the rebirth of the Chi-Chi's brand across the US, and they're geo-targeting Connecticut. All weekend I was served up an ad offering the opportunity to 'Own a Piece of Chi-Chi's'. According to the listing on Startengine.com, a minimum investment of around $250,000 will get you in the door with over 1,000+ investors in an attempt to bring that famous salsa back. As of today, June 18, there are two new Chi-Chi's Restaurants in the works outside of Minneapolis, but they haven't opened yet.

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For now, you can catch their logo on NASCAR vehicles, and you can still get Chi-Chi's famous products at your grocery store, or from C-M-Entertainment on Ebay.com.

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