The Chili’s Grill and Bar restaurant at 3745 Alton Parkway in Irvine closed its doors for good on Tuesday, April 16. The closure comes as no surprise, as Chili’s lease at Westpark Plaza expired at the end of 2020. After several temporary extensions, Brinker International, the owner of Chili’s, has decided to permanently close the location in April.
A sign posted outside the shuttered restaurant reads, “Chili’s lease at Westpark Plaza expired at the end of 2020. After several temporary extensions, Brinker International, the owner of Chili’s, will now permanently close this location in April. We are pleased to announce that a family-owned dining restaurant will open in this location early next year.”
The future restaurant will not be affiliated with any Brinker International brands, a spokesperson for Brinker International confirmed. No word yet on exactly what the next culinary iteration will move into the vacant Westpark Plaza space.
The Chili’s Irvine location opened in December 1995. The closure comes on the heels of an Aliso Viejo Chili’s shutting its doors permanently in September 2023. El Torito, another similar casual concept within the pantheon of chain dining, has shuttered several locations within the last year, including restaurants in Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Orange, and Westminster.
The restaurant — known for its vast menu, margaritas, and baby back ribs jingle (an earworm cemented as canon after Michael Scott sang it in an episode of “The Office”) — lays claim to more than 1,500 restaurants in all 50 states, with a handful across the globe. Chili’s has five remaining Orange County locations in Buena Park, LA Habra, Mission Viejo, Orange, and Yorba Linda.
