Posted in: NBC, Nerd Food, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: Chili's, the office

The Office 20th Anniversary Gets Chili's Themed Restaurant Location

Chili's is opening a restaurant near Scranton, PA, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Office with easter eggs and an Awesome Blossom.

Nearly 20 years since NBC's The Office provided a front-row seat to Chili's as part of its place in pop culture history with Michael Scott (Steve Carell) handing out Dundie awards to his Dunder Mifflin employees, it seems like the restaurant chain is looking return a favor with opening a new location in Dickson City, PA about six miles north of Scranton, the setting for the Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, and Stephen Merchant series. Consistent with The Office's use of product placement, the chain was featured in the season two episode "The Client."

Chili's Going Above and Beyond to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of 'The Office' with a Themed Location

While there's still no Chili's location in Scranton, Dickson City will have to do, but the chain plans to decorate the location with nods to the NBC series and references to the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Jumping on board to mark the occasion are two of The Office stars: Brian Baumgartner, who played Kevin Malone, who works in the accounting department with Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) and Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey); and Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer, who works in accounting and purchasing/supplier relations.

Kevin is based on the original UK series character Keith Bishop, played by Ewan Macintosh, with a similar lack of communication skills and an affinity for music. Meredith is an original character for the U.S. version. "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. While the series lampooned the residents of Scranton, the community long came to embrace the series, even to the point of hosting large The Office parties, which includes one for the 2013 series finale. "It's kind of like what Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) says in the last episode: there's beauty in ordinary things. And Scranton can feel ordinary to some people," Flannery said. "But it's really special. It really is."

Fans will be in for a treat when the Dickson City Chili's opens on April 7th, as the location will bring back a discontinued favorite, the Awesome Blossom, a fried onion appetizer served with horseradish on the side, which will be an exclusive. Just don't get banned, like Pam did. The Office, which also stars John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Craig Robinson, Leslie David Baker, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton, B.J. Novak, and Mindy Kaling, is available to stream on Peacock.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!