Surprising to literally no one, the two Twin Cities locations of Rojo Mexican Grill (The Shops at West End in St. Louis Park and The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove) are both going to be converted to Chi-Chi’s.
Rojo is owned by Twin Cities restaurant entrepreneur Michael McDermott, the son of the founder of the original Chi-Chi’s. He brought Kona Grill public and was also a part of the flop of Lucky Cricket, the Andrew Zimmern restaurant. You don’t win them all.
Both Rojo restaurants are in great locations with tons of parking, which seems to be critical if you’re going to revive the nostalgic Mexican-themed restaurant which was popular in the 1980s. “We are hoping to convert the Rojo in St. Louis Park this summer,” McDermott told me. “And Maple Grove in the fall.”
I was surprised to learn that McDermott is crowd-funding the rebirth of Chi-Chi’s. He’s looking to raise $3.5 million in exchange for “equity” in the brand. So, for a minimum investment of $250 on a platform called Start Engine, you can get a piece of Chi-Chi’s. I tried to look through the offering, I’m no stock expert, and I have no idea if the equity is significant. They’re selling a minimum of 80,000 shares at $1.54/share.
“Crowdfunding gives most people an opportunity to get into something like this that they wouldn’t normally have a chance to get into,” McDermott told me. “A lot of it came from the response from the announcement which went totally viral. We had 600 articles written, 1.5 billion media impressions, it was pretty crazy.” Unlike crowdsourcing money like GoFundMe which is essentially a gift, this is actual stock. “They’re getting common stock, they’re getting ownership in the company. We want to expand this around the country, so they’re getting in the ground floor of a new venture,” said McDermott.
What will Chi-Chi’s look like? Open kitchens, tortillas made in house, 100 tequila options in the bar. Twin Cities design firm Shea is creating the design, which will have a 70s nostalgia feel and some elements of the original design.
A lot of you may be wondering: Why? “Nobody is a national dominant brand in Mexican,” said McDermott. Chi-Chi’s is not trying to compete with El Burrito Mercado, Pineda Tacos, or Nixta… they see the competition as Chuy’s, On The Border, and Uncle Julio’s.
The food will include some CHI-CHIs originals, some of the most popular things at Rojo, and “things like birria tacos that are not on either menu but in line with trends today,” McDermott said.
Nostalgia is hot right now—with the local rebirth of Steak & Ale part of a national move to comfort and memorabilia. Why not Chi-Chi’s!?
 are both going to be converted to Chi-Chi's.){kind=link}