Chili's Original Location Is Now Home To This Popular Gas Station Chain

I wouldn't blame you for thinking Chili's restaurant concept was cooked up in some sort of boardroom back in the day, but no, the Tex-Mex-inspired chain really did begin in Texas. The queso dip and fajitas aren't just for the sake of menu cosplay. The original location, founded in 1975, was located in Dallas at the intersection of Greenville Avenue and Meadow Road, but if you're hoping to make a pilgrimage, the first Chili's no longer exists at that spot.

That original building was replaced in 1981 when the city of Dallas expanded Greenville Avenue, and was eventually taken down in 2012. It's been since replaced by a 7-Eleven (which was also founded in Dallas). But you won't need to go to Greenville and Meadow to grab Chili's newest Big QP burger, or to get ahold of its viral mozzarella sticks, since there's likely a location that's much closer to you now. In fact, it's gone from that first restaurant to around 1,200 Chili's worldwide, having expanded to dozens of countries outside the United States.

Chili's isn't named after the chile pepper. In fact, the restaurant chain is named after the actual dish, since it was originally supposed to be the central focus of the menu. Founder Larry Lavine also thought the short name would be catchy and easy to remember, but that bowl of red has long since dropped off the menu in favor of other classic chain restaurant dishes, which includes racks of barbecued ribs (and who could forget that earworm of a jingle?). The first building also didn't prominently feature the color red, like most locations do now, but instead had a dull green color to it with white trim. It was also one of the first casual sit-down chains in Dallas, TGI Fridays being another of them.

So there's lots to the lore of Chili's, which has seen a massive surge in popularity lately, thanks to $10.99 meal deals that get you a whole lot of food. And if you're still looking to make a pilgrimage to the original address, where you can grab a 7-Eleven Slurpee instead, don't worry. You're still within a stone's throw of a Chili's location, as there's still one under five miles away.