Chi-Chi's is no longer around, which may not be surprising when you learn more about this restaurant. This chain was started in Minnesota in the 1970s by Marno McDermott, who had previously started a fast-food chain known as Zapata Foods.company's sales soared to over $2 million
. Much of their immediate success can be attributed to the fact that there wasn't much food of this variety to be found in Minnesota at this time, so customers were flooding in to experience this cuisine. The company continued to see booming success in the early 1980s, but by the mid-80s, the company began to get a little too big for its britches. By 1986 the company had
across the country, but due to market changes and an inability to create a healthy corporate environment as they expanded, they saw a decline in the profitability of Chi-Chi's., another problem arose for the chain as more Mexican immigrants began moving to the U.S. and bringing their own food and culture with them. As more people in the U.S. became exposed to authentic Mexican food, the desire for inauthentic chains like Chi-Chi's began to shrink.