By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press
It has been nearly two decades since the workplace mockumentary “The Office” first set an episode inside a Chili’s, where Michael Scott handed out Dundie awards to his ever-tolerant employees, including trophies for the whitest sneakers and for stinking up the bathroom.
Over nine seasons, “The Office” regularly name-dropped real places and products associated with Scranton, where the Emmy-winning show was set. There’s the big pirate ship restaurant known as Cooper’s Seafood House and Poor Richard’s Pub inside a bowling alley. But in 2005, there was no Chili’s in the Pennsylvania city.
So, at last, the chain is filling a hole in Office lore by opening a Chili’s in Dickson City, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) north of Scranton.
New Chili’s, old look
The restaurant will be decorated as it would have been in the mid-2000s with old signs and chalkboard art. It will also feature direct nods to the show’s fictitious paper company, Dunder Mifflin. In one episode, Scott, played by Steve Carell, orders an awesome blossom — a deep-fried onion with a cheese dipping sauce — while trying to win a new client over lunch at Chili’s. That item, long struck from the Chili’s menu nationwide, is being reintroduced in the Scranton-area restaurant only.
The new Chili’s will open April 7, when a “Scranton marg” will be available nationwide for the day.
Two Office actors are appearing in commercials for the restaurant: Brian Baumgartner, who played the dimwitted accountant Kevin Malone; and Kate Flannery, whose character Meredith Palmer was a party-loving divorced mother working in supplier relations. Other actors, including Melora Hardin, Andy Buckley and Amy Pietz, also feature in a promotional video.
“It seems like a wrong was righted here at around the 20th anniversary of the show to finally have a Scranton branch of Chili’s,” Baumgartner told The Associated Press.
‘Beauty in ordinary things’
Decades ago, when word got out that an American version of the British show “The Office” would center on Scranton, some locals feared their hometown would be the butt of the joke. The Rust Belt town had its heyday generations earlier with anthracite coal mining and steam trains.
The show wound up celebrating Scranton and the characters, not poking fun at them, Baumgartner said.
Flannery, who is from Philadelphia, said she’s happy “The Office” helped to reinforce local pride in the city. Scranton has hosted large Office parties, including one that drew many cast members and some 10,000 people around the 2013 series finale. Streaming services have boosted the show’s popularity.
“It’s kind of like what Pam Beesly says in the last episode: there’s beauty in ordinary things. And Scranton can feel ordinary to some people,” Flannery told the AP. “But it’s really special. It really is.”
The show banked on residents and businesses to donate Scranton swag, and gave shout-outs to local landmarks. John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, filmed scenes for the opening montage in Scranton, making the city’s Penn Paper tower recognizable around the world. The “Scranton welcomes you” sign from Krasinski’s footage was moved to a downtown mall because people kept stopping on a highway to take photos.
‘I feel God in this Chili’s tonight’
For Chili’s, building a themed eatery that is expected to draw tourists isn’t the normal course of business, said George Felix, Chili’s chief marketing officer. In 2005, the nearest Chili’s was about 19 miles (30 kilometers) away from Scranton. It has since closed.
“Given the ties that this brand has to Scranton, this one was definitely special for us,” Felix told the AP.
Baumgartner, who analyzed the show in a podcast and book, said the new Chili’s calls back to a crucial episode — The Dundies — that kicked off Season 2, Baumgartner said.
“We were a failing show, quite frankly, with really bad ratings that first season and barely got brought back for a second,” Baumgartner said. “But some tonal things were changed. We decided to open that second season with kind of a bang, and left the office for the first time.”
In that episode, Pam Beesly, played by Jenna Fischer, won the “whitest sneakers” Dundie and declared tipsily, “I feel God in this Chili’s tonight.” Pam was subsequently banned from Chili’s nationwide for stealing people’s drinks. In 2017, Chili’s pardoned the character, saying she was welcome back.
“It’s going to feel like they’re actually on the show because it’s going to look exactly the same,” Flannery said of the Scranton-area Chili’s. “So it’s like a fan destination. It’s kind of awesome.”