If you’re jonesing for Chili Willi’s, just head south to Charlotte, where the beloved restaurant has reemerged with Ron Smith’s blessing.
By Chuck McGill
HQ 135 | AUTUMN 2026
Three hundred eight miles separate the original Chili Willi’s restaurant, which was located at 841 Fourth Ave. in downtown Huntington, and the iteration that opened its doors in Cornelius, North Carolina, on May 8. The popular Tex-Mex joint’s rebirth is thanks to Rob Duckworth, an erstwhile West Virginian, and Ron Smith, the original owner and creator.
Today, the Mountain State is migrating south to nibble on nostalgia, enjoying the Texas red chili and fajitas that were fan favorites for so many years.
“We knew there would be a lot of people who would come and find us, but it’s more than I thought,” said Duckworth. “A third of the time you know where they came from because they have a green shirt on. If they are wearing something Marshall, I don’t even wait — I just go over and start chatting.”
Duckworth said patrons are flocking to the Lake Norman area from points north and south. During the first week the new location was open, a Chili Willi’s fan made a seven-hour round-trip from Charleston, South Carolina, for dinner. Duckworth said the man made the trek in one day, finishing his meal around 8 p.m. and returning home near midnight. A couple from Huntington ventured to the restaurant to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary, which resonated with the restaurant owner. After all, his first date with his wife, Gina, was at Chili Willi’s.
“Rob was one of my best customers,” said Smith. “He’d come in and have business meetings for lunch there, and then he’d come back for dinner. He was in there all the time. And because of him and his wife, there was this emotional attachment.”
The Chili Willi’s revival has been a decade in the making. Duckworth was a frequent visitor to the original 32-seat location while working for 7-Eleven, Inc., assisting his father with running the many convenience stores the family owned. In the ’90s, Duckworth took a trip to Charlotte with friends and indulged in the bar, restaurant and concert scene.
“I kind of got the bug,” Duckworth said. “I went down for a weekend and thought it was such a cool city and vibe. We went to a concert and to some bars, and it was a really great experience. The lake was right there; you have both the beaches and the mountains. I saw the growth opportunity and decided to move before the family started growing too much.”
Duckworth’s entrepreneurial journey began 22 years ago in Mooresville, North Carolina, when he opened Duckworth’s Grill & Taphouse. Today he has several ventures including a pair of Link & Pin restaurants, an elevated dining experience featuring steak and seafood, and The Cellar, a speakeasy gastropub. He’s also working with one of his restaurant employees to open The Loft, an Uptown Charlotte comedy club.
After Duckworth moved, he longed for his favorite Huntington establishment. After Chili Willi’s closed its doors in 2011, Duckworth approached Smith, whom he had watched all those years working in the kitchen, dressed in a white chef’s jacket, monitoring the food headed to the tables.
“I called him and said, ‘Hey, can we meet?’” Duckworth recalled. “We met in Huntington, but we couldn’t come to terms.”
Smith was still tinkering with a fast-casual concept using the Chili Willi’s brand. A few years later, Smith was ready to sit down at the negotiating table again with Duckworth, but the timing was ill-suited for Duckworth, who was in the midst of another restaurant launch. Last year, finally, Duckworth and Smith aligned, agreeing to transfer the brand, provide Smith with royalties for the next 10 years and work together on recreating the menu.
This version of Chili Willi’s includes street tacos, while menu additions from later years — like pizza and wraps — have been retired. Duckworth and Smith spent months recreating the restaurant’s signature flavors, refining recipes like the chile con queso until they matched the original served at 841 Fourth Ave. The beloved fajita Philly once again comes on a grilled all-grain Brunetti’s bun, just like the old days. Just as important, they resurrected the look and feel of the original restaurant, from its bold red, yellow and green color palette and casual Tex-Mex-inspired décor to the familiar Chili Willi’s logo, creating a space that feels instantly recognizable to longtime customers.
“I’m very proud of Chili Willi’s, and that was one of the main inspirations for doing this deal with Rob,” Smith said. “Rob is so successful and has a great organization. I spent 15 months in Charlotte, including 35 weeks with the corporate chef, James DiBella, working with distributors and purveyors and equipment people.
If I didn’t have pride in the brand, I wouldn’t have put the effort into this at 74 years old. Our food has always been made from scratch, so it takes a lot of hands, and doing this has been an absolute pleasure.”
The new Chili Willi’s Tex-Mex Grill Restaurant is located at 9615 Bailey Rd. in Cornelius, North Carolina. That’s just a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Huntington!
Chuck McGill is the executive director at Capitol Market, an indoor-outdoor farmer’s market located in the heart of Charleston, West Virginia. He is a nine-time West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year.
