The Knoxville-original chili-over-Fritos bowl born at the 1982 World's Fair, served in a sliced-open Fritos bag with chili, cheese, sour cream and salsa.
Joe and Carol Schoentrup and Mark and Ann Lawrence built a food concession at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville serving chili over corn chips. They called it the Petro after the fair's energy theme. The concession sold 175,000 units in six months, then sold to brothers Dale and Keith Widmer who built it into the East Tennessee chain that still serves the original Petro at Market Square.
1 editor pick for Petro's Chili and Chips (The Petro) in Knoxville, ranked by editorial score. All Knoxville signature dishes · Petro's Chili and Chips (The Petro) across every city.