Good bye Chili's on Durango

Tonight is a very sad night. After a long week, it is now Friday, and we have nowhere to go. Earlier this week Kathy and I were watching the news when they announced that Chili's was going to close 3 of their Las Vegas restaurants. We both looked at each other and sympathetically wondered what the poor people would do when their neighborhood Chili's was closed. When they announced that one of the casualties would be our new-found favorite hangout, "Our" Chili's on Durango we were shocked. How can it even be possible that our Chili's on Durango would be one of the selected few to go. It was still so new, so fresh. I know that it was not the busiest of the chains stores, but it was still in it's infancy, and had lots of room for growth. I think that one of the reasons that we liked going there so much was because it was not as crowded as the more hip, established Chili's restaurants, it is almost as if the thing that made it great was the thing that brought about it's demise. Whenever we would have a reason to go out as a family it was to our Durango Chili's, when Grandma and Grandpa would come to town it was Durango Chili's, when we had the chance to go out with new friends we would go to our new Durango Chili's.

I think that it was the only restaurant that I could be comfortable and be myself. I could impress everyone with my ability to order, "Southwest Egg rolls, Fajita for two, extra vegies"

On special occasions we would order the Chocolate cake with the hot chocolate sauce and ice cream. One order, 6 spoons. About a month ago as we finished our meal, I looked at Kathy and said "I love this place, where else can we eat for less than $25.00 (tip included)" Now it is gone.

Today when I went to the bank I had to drive by to see with my own eyes that it was really, really gone. I hardly recognized it. In one week the evil corporation that owned it had removed any signs of it's existence. The big fake pepper, gone. The signage, gone. Even the parking spaces reserved for Chili's to go customers were missing. The signs next to them for handicap parking was still there, but no curbside to go signs.

I find it difficult to write about this, because it was so new, it was almost like it was a part of the family. The paint on the building is so fresh, and I know that it was probably one of the few places that we go to that didn't have enough time to even get cockroaches or that disgusting grease build-up that befalls so many other fine dining establishments.

I know there are still plenty of Chili's restaurants in Vegas that we can still go to, but somehow it just doesn't seem right. Goodbye Chili's on Durango. You will be missed.