From The Past: May 20, 2008

I miss Chi-Chi’s, a Mexican Restaurant that used to have a location in Lexington on Nicholasville Road. My parent’s would take me and my sister there to eat at least every other weekend. The waiting room was standing room only on a Friday or Saturday night. Looking into the bar, I remember it was always packed too.

The Spanish style of decorating wasn’t well known to me at this time, so it was almost like visiting a different world. I loved the colored tiles and the rounded booths which had long curtains separating each one. The music was lively and loud and the atmosphere electric. Everyone was there to eat and have a great time.

I love black olives and my sister loves cheese, so my dad always ordered us a small bowl filled with our favorites. We were special; not everyone else’s dad would have done that!

I still have menus from 1980 and 1984.

This is the menu from 1980:

Kids twelve years of age and under were given a menu which could also be worn as a sombrero. Yes, I still have that too:

In 1985, my parent’s took me, along with two friends, to Chi-Chi’s for my thirteenth birthday. My dad quickly wrote this down and handed it to our waitress: