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I don’t know what it feels like to lose a sports team. I’m Dallas suburb kid, so I’ve actually been on the receiving end of a professional franchise relocating to my area. Looking at you, Dallas Stars. Shoutout to Neal Broten. So while I don’t exactly know what it’s like to have a team you’ve followed all of your life just up and leave for greener pastures, I believe that I’m currently experiencing the same emotions that Rams Nation is right now. You see, my favorite Chili’s just closed, and I’m having a really hard time with it.
It was located on Knox Street in Dallas. One of the only remaining Chili’s located in Dallas proper, this place was a local hotspot for any hot young professional looking to mix it up with the high rollers of uptown. Total scene. A real meat market, Knox-Chil, as everyone called it, was the ultimate landing spot for hot young couples looking to really take things to the next level. But all of that is gone now.
I’ll never forget where I was when I heard the news- texting with my buddy JB during a late meeting.
It stung. I wanted answers.
Chili’s Grill & Bar closed on January 11. According to a spokesperson for the restaurant, the landlord opted not to renew the lease.
And here I sit wondering why.
Why would a landlord not renew a lease for an entity that has brought so much joy and skillet queso to the citizens of Dallas? Was the sizzle of the Mix & Match Fajitas, a sound that makes millions smile each day, not enough? I guess only God knows why.
Much like those St. Louis Rams fans that have stayed loyal to the team during the recent Jeff Fisher era, I have remained loyal to Chili’s through the street taco experiment. But what hurts the most isn’t that I’ll likely never again enjoy a plate of Crispers on Knox Street again, or the fact that I’ll never start an evening in Uptown by combining my three favorite appetizers into a Triple Dipper, it’s that my future children will never know the joy of spending a Sunday morning at the Pottery Barn, then walking next door for a Big Mouth Burger.
For people like us, Sundays will never be the same. All we can do is hope to move on with our lives and find something else that makes us happy.
Next time you’re at the Chil’, order a Presidente for your buddy Dave and all of Rams Nation. We’ll be with you in spirit..
[via Culture Map Dallas]
Image via B Brown / Shutterstock.com
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Dave
Lawyer. Writer. Dude doing business. I'm the meatloaf guy from tv.
@dcarterruff
@dcruff
dcarterruff
david@grandex.co
“Chili’s is the new golf course. It’s where business happens.”
-Michael G. Scott
Small Businessman Magazine. I sent it in. Letter to the editor.
Sorry for your loss, Dave
As a Cleveland fan my heart goes out to St. Louis fans. There is nothing like having an owner rip your heart out.
As a (former) Rams fan, I feel your pain, Dave. Thank you for having the courage to share your story.
bummed for you. Kroenke karma way low
Not going to lie, I don’t like Chili’s. Even in the barren wasteland of the Chicago ‘burbs, there are plenty of better hole in the wall Mexican joints that blow Chili’s and their crappy overpriced food and drink out of the water. And usually I hate the #eatlocal snobs, but on this one, I’m right.
I’ve never been to one, can’t see that changing.
Have you no soul?
Relax, Cube. He’s just homeless.
Yeah everyone knows the homeless people go to Ruby Tuesdays
No self respecting homeless person in Austin is pushing a shopping cart to Shreveport to hit up the closest Ruby Tuesdays.
What about the non-self respecting…?
You’d have to talk to Tim, he’s head of the standards committee, and they’re constantly changing. Just yesterday he switched things up from the below to “Give me $$$ for weed or I’m voting for Hillary.”
Seems legitimate.
Never realized how much red tape homeless people have to cut through.
Most likely, but it’s unrelated to avoiding places with mediocre food.