Chuy’s

Ebony and Ivory was the number one song, Chariots of Fire took the Acadamy Award, and if you were around, you were probably watching Cheers on TV. The year was 1982, and two friends had Mexican, Star Wars and Elvis on their mind. They simply wanted a fun place for anyone to come and enjoy the great Tex-Mex food. Austin, Texas, keeping it weird, brought us the home of the original Chuy’s. That was almost 40 years and 100 locations ago. If you stop by on Elvis’ birthday (January 8), you’re in for a treat.

General Restaurant Information

Food Type: Mexican

Restaurant Type: Casual Dining

U.S. Locations: 82

States: 19 states, Chuy’s Locations

Company Slogan: Fine Tex-Mex, Don’t Mess With Tex-Mex

 

Contact Information

Website: chuys.com

Questions: Contact Information

Phone number: 512-473-2783

Email: Contact Form Only

Blog: No

FAQ Page: Frequently Asked Questions

 

Ownership

Who Owns Chuy’s? Chuy’s

Headquartered: Austin, Texas

Contact Information: 

Website: chuys.com

Email/contact page: Contact Information

Phone: 512-473-2783

Address: 1623 Toomey Road, Austin, Texas 78704

Do They Franchise? Franchise Information

 

The restaurant has a great atmosphere for families with kids. It’s colorful, loud, fun and if your child will eat Mexican, has a lot of good food choices. They are a little on the expensive side for families on a budget but I think a lot of that is to support the (fresh) food ingredients they serve. They do a lot of things well when it comes to the quality standards of their food yet at the same time aren’t very transparent as it relates to their nutrition and allergen information.

 

What Is It Like To Work At Chuy’s?

Employment Page

4.0/5 or 80%; 420 Reviews (indeed.com)

3.8/5, or 76%; 245 Reviews (glassdoor.com)

What to expect when working at Chuy’s (job-applications.com)

 

The History of Chuy’s

Original Location: 1728 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, Texas 

Founded: April 16, 1982

Founded By: Mike Young & John Zapp

Biography Articles:

Lessons in Success and Humility With Mike Young of Shady Grove (foundingaustin.com)

Co-founder jailed, accused of punching wife in the face, the affidavit says (statesman.com)

Chairman of Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chuy’s resigns after arrest (bizjournals.com)

Owner is No Enemy of GOP (abcnews.go.com)

Founder Obituary: Still Living

Name Origin: Believed to have been named after Chewbacca from Star Wars.

History Page: Company History Page

Current View of Original Location:1728 Barton Springs Rd as it is today(link may not work on mobile devices without Google Maps)

Historical Articles: 

The story behind the Elvis shrine and more (bizjournals.com)

Elvis never leaves the building (chron.com)

 

Social Awareness

Charity Focus: Community Support

Green | Eco-Friendly: No environmental resources found.

Animal Cruelty: No resources found.

 

Discounts At Chuy’s

Rewards Program: Chuy’s Reward Program 

Do Kids Eat Free at Chuy’s?

Summary: The restaurant does not offer any discounts or promotions related to kids eat free.

Does Chuy’s Offer Military Discounts?

Summary: No resources found.

What Does Chuy’s offer for My Birthday!?

Summary: There are few resources as it relates to what the chain offers on your birthday and their site does not give any information, even as it relates to their rewards club. I was able to find this… As always, call and check with your local store for details.

Stop by Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant on your birthday and receive a Free Traditional Dessert on the house! You do not have to sign-up your email to a rewards program or anything like that, although if you choose to do so, you’ll be able to take advantage of more special offers. (hustlermoneyblog.com)

Does Chuy’s Offer First Responder Discounts?

Summary: The restaurant does not offer any discounts or promotions related to first responders.

Does Chuy’s Offer Senior Citizen | AARP Discounts?

Summary: They do not offer any discounts or promotions related to senior citizens.

Are There Any Other Discounts or Benefits at Chuy’s?

Summary: They do have a “rewards program” but give very little to no information as to the benefits. When you go to their homepage and click on the link “Great News & Specials” which is very small at the top you are then redirected to a third party site where it states –

Want all the latest and greatest Chuy’s news? Sign up for our emails by filling in the fields below and clicking “submit.” Thanks for being a Chuy’s fan!

 

This Mexican chain has a great atmosphere for families with kids. It’s colorful, loud, fun and if your child will eat Mexican, has a lot of good food choices. They are a little on the expensive side for families on a budget but I think a lot of that is to support the (fresh) food ingredients they serve. They do a lot of things well when it comes to the quality standards of their food yet at the same time aren’t very transparent as it relates to their nutrition and allergen information.

 

Amenities

Order Online: No

WiFi Available: Yes

Use Apple Pay: No  

Reservations: No  

Catering: No  

Drive-Thru: No 

Open 24 Hours: No  

 

Customer Reviews of Chuy’s

Yelp: 3.8/5 or 77%, 4,087 reviews sampled

Tripadvisor: 4.2/5 or 85%, 2,862 reviews sampled

Overall (weighted) Average: 4.0/5 or 80%, 6,949 reviews sampled

 

Chuy's & Related Items on Amazon

no products

Food & Nutrition

Menu:  Chuy’s Menu

Kids Menu:  Chuy’s Kids Menu

Secret Menu:  No

Most Popular Menu Item: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Coke or Pepsi: Coke

Serve Alcohol: Yes

Nutritional Information: Chuy’s does not state their nutritional information online

Vegetarian | Vegan Options: 

Select Vegan or Vegetarian Options (chuys.com)

Vegan Options at Chuy’s Tex-Mex Restaurant (approvedeats.com)

Mexican Food Can Be Vegan (nashveggie.com)

Farm to Table | Organic Options | Clean | Non-GMO: 

Restaurant review: Tex-Mex at Chuy’s is fresh and fun (timesfreepress.com)

Miscellaneous Nutrition Resources: 

Chuy’s Nutritional Information (fatsecret.com)

Eating At Chuy’s Healthy Style (ashleybensonfitness.com)

Tips For Eating Healthy At Mexican Restaurants (lifetolauren.com)

Chuy’s Restaurant (chuysrestaurant.blogspot.com)

Allergy Information

Allergen Information: Chuy’s does not publish their nutritional or allergen information

Gluten Free Options: 

Chewin’ Out Chuy’s! (aglutenfree.me)

Dairy Free Options: 

Dairy Free Options (godairyfree.org)

Restaurant Guide For Dairy-Free Dining (godairyfree.org)

Peanut Free Options: No resources found, but the following may be helpful to you.

Food Allergy Guides For Many Chain Restaurants (verywellhealth.com)

Ways to Eliminate Risks of Peanut Allergy When Dining Out (healthguidance.org)

 

Does Chuy’s Have Any Secret Recipes?

Secret Recipes:  

Creamy Jalapeno Dip (copykat.com) (geniuskitchen.com)

Southwestern Egg Rolls (allrecipes.com)

Chuy’s Recipes (allrestaurantrecipes.com)

 

Did You Know?

Fun Facts: 

Elvis was a fluke. If you’ve ever been to the restaurant, you will notice more or less a slight Elvis theme. There are conflicting stories as to how his association came to be; one says that they had a small budget and used $20 to purchase a cheap Elvis print. Another says a woman was getting a divorce and gave the print to them. Either way, it (accidentally) became a big part of their culture.

The fish, hanging in the restaurant, are hand painted and supplied by a mountain village of Mexico (source)

They roll their tortillas by hand in the individual store locations and make their sauces in-house as well. Every dish at their stores is made from scratch daily, and the only thing they have in their freezers is ice cream for the kids. (source)

Each year they have over 1.75 million pounds of green chilies grown from New Mexico (source)

One of the co-founders, John Zapp, was recently (May 2018) arrested for punching his wife in the face. He resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board following his arrest. (source)

Make sure you put in the correct Chuy’s restaurant into your GPS. There are two more restaurants of the same name. One is found in Van Horn Texas and opened in 1959. Their website is fittingly chuys1959.com. The other (chain) is located in California and Arizona. Having been open since 1975, they claim the domain originalchuys.com.

Back to the one born in 1959, they are apparently known for a story in which John Madden stopped by in 1987. Who knew!

Surprisingly, there isn’t that much information out there for a restaurant that has been around since 1982, has close to 100 locations and seems to have quite the personality.

 

Interesting Articles:

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant (roamilicious.com)

Testing catering and online ordering (nrn.com)

Chuy’s News (foodnewsfeed.com)

 

Chuy's & Related Items on Amazon

no products

 

Social Media

Followers (as of September 2018) –  

Facebook: 67,577

Twitter: 10,000

Instagram: 13,800

Mobile Apps

Alternatives

Better Options: Coming Soon

Similar Restaurants: 

Freebirds

Moe’s Southwest Grill

 

 

In Summary

Whether you’re a fan of Elvis or not, Chuy’s is worth a look. Just make sure you are going to the right Chuy’s not the other “originals.” They are committed to fun, fresh food with a unique environment. Of course, anyone can have a bad experience at a restaurant, but overall they do very well with their patrons as it relates to reviews. Educate yourself on eating Mexican out as it relates to your overall health, but make sure the kids save room for ice cream, the only thing you’ll find in a Chuy’s restaurant.

 

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