creepy abandoned highway kmart chichis

So, hey internet. Have i ever talked about the CACC in Springfield, VA? If not, I'm dumb. It's not far from my house, and it's been there forever (right off 395/old keene mill road, before you reach the KMart Shopping Center. Also, KMart/Trader Joes/BuyBuyBaby? Riddle me this: those three places seem totally incongruous.)

Ok, so. John has sent the below in, because he is awesome and has a camera with him at all times apparently. Or, even better, made a special trip to that crazy-ass KMart/TJ's/Baby shopping area right off the craziest-assest highway (the Mixing Bowl, three superhighways merge, it's insanity) just to capture the glamour that is Chi-Chis.

Woot, thanks John!

wait, what?

So. I was puzzling over the "Bankets" menu on the Brussels site, and what do my little blue eyes spy? Tumbleweed Restaurant is the "US Chi-Chis brand"?

Apparently they are only in Ohio and Kentucky, with smattering of T-weeds in Indiana and Wisconsin as well.

More on this shocking discovery as it develops. And by "develops" I mean my husband and I spend the next 30 minutes on IM frantically joke-planning a roadtrip to Zanesville.

Salsafication!

Updates:

- Commenter Peg gives us a photo album of Wisconsin-Mexican Destruction (Wisconsin 1, Chi-Chi's 0).

- Emailer and former CC busboy Greg reports on his Wikipedia entry and the heartstring-tugging rumors that somewhere, a Chi-Chi's is still operational - Belgium (?) and Luxembourg (???????) Greg. Don't toy with my emotions like that, Greg.

Speaking of emotional:

Declaration of Salsafication which, at one point, appeared on the back of the menu: [3]

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to
solemnly declare the right to be free and salsafied, absolved from all
connection to the shackles of the bored, the ordinary and the bland.

We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all Chi-Chi's are
created to salsafy our lives through good food, festive drink,
and the pursuit of some serious fun.

Further it is the right of the people to abolish routine. As a free
and salsafied people. You have the full power to come together,
to eat, to drink, to be loud, to relax, to goof off, to pause.

On support of this declaration, we pledge to you these
articles of salsafication for as long as the sun does rise.
For life always needs a little salsa.™

OMG YOU'RE WELCOME, INTERNET.

"you don't have to come to work today." if only, internet.

From my inbox. apparently, this one is in Altoona, PA:



Here's where I got my first job washing dishes. I worked there 5 years. left one night as the manager and got a message the next day , You don't have to come to work today. Unless you wanna get some extra hours helping pack up some stuff. I went and me and a lot of workers drained the margarita tank in kids cups with lids and straws. In the mean while the district manager didn't even know, LOL.

LOL indeed. Seriously, who wants to go get margaritas in sippy cups after work? I kind of do.

"Delaware Chi-Chi's" might be the saddest phrase ever.

Updates on Chi-Chis in the Mid-Atlantic/Dutch Country, courtesy one DKline:

Surprisingly, with the exception of one locale as far as I know all metro Philadelphia locales were quickly turned into other things:

Exton, PA---a former Ponderosa turned Chi-Chi's quickly became a Cheeseburger in Paradise
Willow Grove, PA--became Carrabba's
Newark, DE--Cheeseburger in Paradise
Allentown, PA sure I think it was torn down for the Lehigh Valley Mall expansion I will check.
Langhorne, PA-Cheeseburger in Paradise

the only one that really sat was Media, PA.....it was boarded up a good few years and the local school district even started using the parking lot as a school bus storage yard. The building has since been torn down sometime in 2007 and the site is now fenced off with a chain-link fence....the lot is still there growing quite a lot of weeds and the cement "pad" for the building is still there and visible indicating where the building once stood. I could get a shot of it if you want if it is still there..haven't been by in a few months.

"Exton, PA---a former Ponderosa turned Chi-Chi's quickly became a Cheeseburger in Paradise."

Dear God in Heaven, the humanity.

ha. fauxdobe.

Bad news: the Alexandria/Rt. 1 Chi-chi's (described here) has been torn down sometime in the past few months. We hadn't been that direction in a long time and had to make a run to Lowe's because of a comical bathroom caulking/remodeling issue (the people that owned our house before us? WORST HOME IMPROVEMENTERS EVER) and bam - 'twas gone. In it's place stands a ridiculously garish TJI Fridays.

It's a crying shame they didn't reuse the existing building, even if it was crumbling into the ground. And they didn't put a Carraba's there? I would have loved to see a fake-Italian-deep-south-carolina-ish-accented chain eating establishment take over the heap of faded 80's day-glo paint and fauxdobe.

See that word, "fauxdobe?" I just made it up. I am funny.

Chi-Chis auction: Pasadena, MD

From the awesome Adam in MD:

I found some pictures online of the Chi-chi's I used to work at an auction website (note that there are two pages):

Chi-Chi's Photos

The restaurant was bought fairly quickly after it closed, and was renovated into a Carraba's Italian Restaurant. Carraba's only occupies a section of the building though, with the unoccupied part I assume still in its original condition.

Feel free to post any of this on the blog.

Please note my hatred for Carraba's, but only because of their radio commercials. I've never actually eaten at a Carrabas. I'm a pathetic evil snob like that. Also, how did they renovate only part of the building? Is the other half still crumbling stucco? I can only hope.

I also just realized I have used the word "awesome" in every single post. I plan to continue to do so. Sorry, internet.

"don't drink the water, drink the margaritas!"

a wonderful gentleman named David from Madison, Wisconsin; sends in these:








My favorite by far is the terrible margarita mural. Because everyone likes to be reminded of explosive diarrhea bad Spring-Break-in-Tijuana-or-whatever-water gives you while dining out. Dining out in Madison, Wisconsin.

Anyways, awesome! Thanks David.

An awesome guy named Rob sent these photos from Flint, Michigan:

"I RECENTLY HAD TO MAKE A TURN AROUND TO GET MY STARBUCKS COFFEE ON BUSY MILLER ROAD IN FLINT AND DECIDED TO SNAP THESE PHOTOS WITH MY CELL PHONE. IT APPEARS SOMEONE HAS MADE HOME AT THE ONCE-BUSY ENTRANCE OF WHERE I USED TO WORK."

Do I spy BEDDING in there? Rad.

i totally forgot about this brilliant project and plan to resurrect it one of these days

i have cleaned up comment spam!

Any photos of creepy abandoned chi-chis? Please send them to me:

pyginablanketATgmail.com




Thanks!

Celebration of Fun

"We would like to thank all of our loyal customers for the past 27 years and
with a tear in our eye, say Adios!"

Or so said the Chi-chi's website before it too was abandoned.

Poor generic family style Tex-Mex restaurant. You give the American dining public years of enjoyment, salsa and hepatitis and this is how your creditors treat you.

Outback Steakhouse, now that you own the land, buildings, furniture, fixtures and liquor licenses, let's do something about these forlorn structures.

Latest find...

Route 1, Springfield VA. Outside the Lowe's.

Exterior:



Hola! Shopping cart could not have been posed better, except perhaps if it were parked in the handicapped space.

Also notice the anti-bird poop defense above the missing sign.



Effective, for I saw no poop. But birds must have been a major problem, cause a fake owl was on the other side.


Give a hoot. Don't leave old, abandoned building laying around.

Interior:



I'm guesiing ROUS's. Big ones.



That would so sting if it got in your eye.

Alexandria, Landmark Mall, 6.26.05

I cannot believe there are still chairs in there.