Don’t you love my pita ghost photoshop job?
You know how sometimes you remember a dish from a chain restaurant so clearly that you can almost taste it? The other day, I randomly remembered the Chicken Caesar Pita at Chili’s. It was my go-to order in junior high and high school. I have a vivid memory of going out to lunch or an early dinner with my junior high friends. My mom had dropped me off in the Chili’s parking lot and I had cash in my purse.
Unfortunately, they don’t sell the Chicken Caesar Pita at Chili’s anymore. That’s what I’m calling a menu ghost. It probably lives more powerfully in my memory than it ever did in real life. Based on a pixelated, low-res photo of the menu in the early 2000s, this meal was only $5.99.
But earlier this year, I decided to Google it. I stumbled across this petition. People are (not super often) actively signing it. As of writing this newsletter the most recent signature by Kimberly Knapp on August 5, 2025 reads, “Please bring it back!!” Two exclamation marks!!
I can’t get enough of this photo + paragraph………..
But chain restaurants know what they’re doing when they retire a fan favorite. It could be a profit thing (usually the case), a supply chain thing (definitely), it could be a “not many people order this” thing, and it could be strategic. When people miss something, they start talking. The absence makes the heart grow fonder. And someday, maybe, the ghost returns as a limited-time offer or a nostalgic comeback.
When I go to Chili’s I want to see the cult classics
We don’t just eat food. We build stories around it! When a chain restaurant takes something off the menu, it stops being just a sandwich or a taco. It becomes a memory that everyone shares differently. That’s how discontinued items turn into ghostly legends. They remind us of a specific time in our lives - like when you’re out on the town with your friends in 8th grade and you order something without your parents and pay (gosh I hope I tipped well) by yourself. Nostalgia has a way of creating fandom. But it’s more than that:
1. Absence amplifies affection - Once you can’t get something, your brain idealizes it. You forget the soggy lettuce and remember the perfect bite. Scarcity makes memory sweeter.
2. Collective memory cements myth - You tell your friends about it. They tell theirs. The story grows. On Reddit, you’ll find people writing:
“McRib is a cult item on purpose so they can hype it up whenever pork prices drop.”
“I miss the old McDonald’s vanilla cookies. Damn those were good.”
“Arby’s potato cakes. They are dead to me now that they discontinued them.”
3. Fan campaigns turn into free marketing - Chili’s fans have a petition to bring back the Original Chicken Crispers with thousands of signatures. Parade covered the movement. The Takeout wrote about it too. When fans beg for something to return, the brand gets a jolt of energy. Social media is bringing back chain restaurant menu items from the dead.
4. Limited-time revivals keep the legend alive - Chains love to bring back retired items for short runs. The McRib, the Enchirito, the Chicken Fries. Scarcity creates excitement, people rush to get it before it disappears again, and the return becomes an event.
5. The ghost is never pure - When the comeback happens, it’s usually not quite the same. The recipe changes or the ingredients are cheaper. Fans notice. They complain. They compare the new version to the one in their memory. That tension only feeds the myth. (PS did you know McDonald’s had onion nuggets in the 70s?)
6. Nostalgia makes people feel like old friends - If you remember the original Crispers or the Chicken Caesar Pita, you’re part of a club. You have insider knowledge. That kind of identity bond is what fandom is built on.
Bring it back. For Callie.
As Callie wrote in 2025 on the Chicken Caesar Pita at Chili's petition: “I haven’t been to chilis since they took it off the menu. I will return when they add it back.”
It’s possible Callie will never return. But that’s okay. I think it fuels her fandom.
Today, the menu ghosts remind me that fandom can be fun and (at least in my case a little unserious). When we care, we talk. When we talk, we look up petitions online. When we sign them, we connect. And when we connect, we create the very thing fandom thrives on.
Menu items don’t last forever but fandom certainly does! I will leave you with another amazing quote from the petition.
“My life has never been the same since the fateful day they took my favorite pita away. I'll never forget that night out in college when I ordered the delightful entree and the waiter, head sinking low and hands shaking, responded to me with "unfortunately, that is no longer on the menu." The waiter was apparently traumatized and embarrassed that this masterful item was GONE, and I saw his life in ruin as well. Chilis may still have skillet queso and molten chocolate cake, but neither make up for the loss of the most creamy, decadent, and pretend healthy sandwich I have ever consumed in my life. Not a day goes by where I don't drool in agony, thinking of the person I would be today if I were enjoying a chicken Caesar pita with dressing on the side twice a month. Please stop my slow and painful death, and bring back this angel of a pita sandwich back into my now sad and lonely chicken Caesar pita-less life.”
Enjoy your weekend and feel free to reply back with your favorite menu ghost.
