Chuy's

Chuy's Holdings, Inc. is an American Tex-Mex restaurant chain founded in 1982 in Austin, Texas, by Mike Young and John Zapp.^[3] As of July 2024, Chuy's had 101 restaurants across 15 states in Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina.^[4]

Chuy's Holdings, Inc.

The original Chuy's on Barton Springs Road in Austin, Texas
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Restaurant
Founded	1982; 43 years ago (1982)
Founders	Mike Young John Zapp
Headquarters	Austin, Texas , United States
Number of locations	100[1] (2023)
Area served	United States
Key people	Steve Hislop (CEO)
Revenue	US$422 million[2] (2022)
Number of employees	7,400[2] (2022)
Parent	Darden Restaurants
Website	chuys.com

History

Chuy's was founded by Mike Young and John Zapp, and the first Chuy's location opened in 1982 on Barton Springs Road in Austin, Texas.^[5] On May 31, 2001, then President George W. Bush's twin daughters, Jenna Bush and Barbara Bush, were cited for using fake IDs at the Barton Springs Road Chuy's,^[6][7] which put Chuy's in the national spotlight.^{[8][9][10][11]} In 2009, Chuy's opened its first restaurant outside of Texas, in Franklin, Tennessee.^[5] A second outside of Texas opened in March 2010 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, followed that summer by locations in Birmingham, Alabama and Louisville, Kentucky. On July 24, 2012, Chuy's went public with a $75.8 million dollar IPO.^[12] At that time they operated 36 locations in 7 states. Cofounder Mike Young died on August 11, 2023, at the age of 74.^[5] In July 2024, Darden Restaurants agreed to acquire Chuy's in an all-cash deal valued at $605 million.^[13] The acquisition was completed on October 11, 2024.^[14]

Menu

Chuy's serves Tex-Mex cuisine, such as enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, and burritos as well as alcoholic cocktails. The food is prepared in each restaurant. Home to the Ham Solo burrito, a off menu item available May the 4th.^[15]

Charitable contributions

Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade has annually collected toys to be distributed to underprivileged children via the Operation Blue Santa's city of Austin Police Department not-for-profit organization since 1988.^[16]

See also

• List of Mexican restaurants