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"Basically, in the next four years, we should be close to 50 restaurants," spokeswoman Ashley Ingle says. "We've branched out from Austin over the years, and we're kind of trying to replicate that hub in the Southeast."
Chuy's has opened restaurants in five Texas metro areas since 2006, when a venture capitalist pumped money into the franchise. But the chain didn't stray past the state's borders until this fall, when it opened a location in Franklin, Tenn. (Another restaurant group operates an unrelated chain of Chuy's in California and Arizona.)
"Nashville has a lot of similarities to Austin," Ingle explains, citing the freeway network, live music scene and Dell Computers' presence.
While the vast majority of Mexican restaurants around Nashville serve the same lineup of enchiladas and chimichangas, Ingle says Chuy's specializes in recipes drawn from the microgastronomic region that runs from New Mexico's Hatch Valley through South Texas' Rio Grande Valley. While dishes like the chain's signature steak burrito and chicken tortillas are likely familiar to eaters weaned on bean dip, Ingle says they're distinguished by the restaurant's use of freshly-made blue corn tortillas and fresh green chile sauce.
"You'll see green chiles in a ton of our dishes," Ingle says.
The new seriousness about Mexicanesque cookery that seems to be taking hold in towns where anything buried under cheese and sour cream was once classified as south-of-the-border food got an extra boost in late 2009, when the Mexican Restaurant Association held its first national convention in Kansas City. The group, launched by the Mexican government, aims to educate American eaters about traditional Mexican food – and steer them away from latter-day innovations like nachos.
"There is Mexican food in Nashville, but Chuy's is just a little bit different," Ingle says. "We met people in Nashville who were like, 'I drove two hours to be here.'"
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1-07-2010 @12:53PM Sarah-Jane said... Yay! We just had a Chuy's open here in Waco, TX. I am so happy to have one close to home. They have the fluffiest flour tortillas in the world!
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1-10-2010 @9:33AM Steve said... Hey Sarah, Texas wouldn't know the first thing about good food. That BBQ you guys make has nothing on Memphis or the Carolinas or my backyard. There are some good Tex Mex places I'm sure but fast food chain restaurant Chuy's isn't one of them. I've had better Tex Mex in Billings MT and you are a disgrace to the actual good joints Texas possesses.
1-10-2010 @10:33AM Matt said... Hey Steve all she said was how awesome the flour tortillas where, Sarah and I eat at awesome little hole in the wall tex-mex joints all over the state. And second off don't trash Tex BBQ, it may be different than what they serve in your neck of the woods, but it's still pretty tasty. Can't we all just hold hands and sing the BBQ song together http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY
1-10-2010 @12:23PM Chef Alfred Schrader said... I love Mexican food, but it gives me the winds.Alfred-
1-07-2010 @1:50PM marquisem said... "is looking to replicate its success in Tennessee with future expansion plans for outlets around Birmingham, Lexington and Memphis." You do realize that Birmingham is in Alabama and Lexington is in Kentucky? Only Memphis is actually IN Tennessee...?
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1-10-2010 @8:23AM bob said... the sentence is correct...thy're looking to replicate their success in Tennessee by opening in the following 3 cities...it doesnt mean those 3 cities are actually IN Tennessee
1-11-2010 @1:19PM Erik said... There is already a store in Tennessee, the location is Franklin, TN. The next Tennessee store will be in Murfreesboro, TN. Just so the facts are understood.
1-10-2010 @8:06AM joey said... when will you guys be in va?!?!?!?
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1-10-2010 @9:29AM Steve said... ANother crappy fast food joint. Our softball team was sponsored for years by Chuys and I may have went out to eat once after a game. Crappy food, too expensive as well. I can't see paying alot of money for crappy food. It's such a shame that there are viable, personal, private food joints out there having a hard time making it because of crap joints like Chuys. Chilis, TGIF. Oh my gosh, I can puke just thinking of the fat laden crap food these joints sell. Good luck America, no wonder diabitis is on a roll.
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1-10-2010 @12:32PM K.J. said... Chuy's isn't a fastfood joint. It's a sit-down, wait for a table, always packed, restaurant. Something you'd know, if you'd ever been there. The food is great and isn't expensive. The pico de gallo salsa, my favorite, is made with fresh tomatoes and peppers. Something else you'd know, if you've ever been there. My family and I have been eating at Chuy's in Dallas and Austin for years and I'm thrilled they're expanding. And by the way, it's "diabetes" not diabitis.
1-10-2010 @10:05AM hobo said... In Nashville and Memphis, try Swanky's for good quick Tex/Mex.
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1-10-2010 @10:14AM C.B. said... I hate to break it to Chuy's but there are already restaurants in Alabama that serve blue corn chips well- one in Birmingham, in fact. I have a feeling where they would try to locate, but a crappy Tex Mex chain outside of one of the largest shopping malls in the Southeast- in Hoover, a Birmingham suburb- had the perfect location and closed up about two or three years later, while the rest of the eateries around the mall are still going strong. We already have a unique, Mexican restaurant in La Superior, so don't think that serving crappy, Mexican food at a high price will succeed in Birmingham.
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1-10-2010 @2:46PM doc said... Not sure where you all have been hiding. The first Chuy's opened in Dallas in the late 1980's. They had a booth called the Elvis lounge which was a hoot.
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1-10-2010 @10:43AM CHABSENTIA said... Most of you people wouldnt know about good food. My wife is Italian and from Italy and not the States. I have heard people rave about the "Olive Garden". She thinks the food is a joke and that the bread is the only decent food. I was born and raised in California. My parents wouldnt buy the tortilla junk they sold in the stores and had in many of the restaurants. , They have places there where they are made by hand in bakeries exclusively for them, I have also lived in Texas and there is food that is called Tex Mex and is junk and then there is the real thing. Most people go across the border in California and Texas for the real thing if they live close enough. I visited Boston many years ago and a friend took me to what she called the "in" place for Mexican food. The food was okay but the service was crap. Many people think that if the food tastes good that it is great. Nonsense. Many if not most couldnt tell the difference between authentic and crap if they arent familar with the culture. Alabama and Tennessee dont biorder on Mexico. Although I am not familar with Chuys I know that you have a better chance of getting authentic Mexican food if you live closer to the border in such States as Arizona, California and Texas. One of the reasons for this is you cant get the authentic ingredients in the States that arent close to States that produce the real thing. Many of you people are better off saving the money you would spend in a restaurant and going to Taco Bell. especially if you live in States far from the border or in a City where they have a large Mexican population. You have a better chance of getting authentic Cuban cuisine in Miami Florida then you do in San Francisco California.
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1-10-2010 @12:25PM Michael said... LOL!!! Nobody really cares if Chuy's is authentic or not. We go there for GREAT happy hour specials and some decent and cheap "tex-mex" food. Nobody really thinks Chuy's is authentic, nor does anybody outside of a trailer park think that Olive Garden is authentic. It's just tasty, cheap food. Stop taking crap so seriously. Chuy's is awesome, and SUPER-popular here in Austin, so I'm sure it will spread around the country like wildfire. Also, they have a free taco bar when you sit in the bar area, it's pretty awesome. :)
1-10-2010 @2:17PM CINDY said... MY!! MY!! Aren't we the SNOOTY ONE!!!
1-10-2010 @10:59AM Darby Lynn said... I agree..i blame obama myself..everytime i go out and buy a pack of smokes..the price goes up! i mean wtf yall?
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1-10-2010 @3:44PM CHABSENTIA said... Cindy: Did you really read my post? You must have missed the part where I said" that I was not familar with Chuys " otherwise you would nt send me a reply lambasting me for criticizing Chuys. Your reply also proves my point because you state that you " go to Chuys for the happy hour and because the food is cheap and it tastes good". You must have missed the part in my post where I stated that "if you are not looking for authentic food and merely food that tastes good then why not go to taco bell where it is also cheap and tasty rather then spend the extra money?" Unless of course your main concern is "happy" hour. My post specifically addressed people here that compared Texas BBQ as well as Tex Mex etc. My point was that there is no such thing as authentic food in many of the chains and restuarants that were mentioned for the reasons I mentioned if you are looking for an authenic dining experience of the Country. As for Michael calling me "snooty". You need to re-read the Post and reply of Cindy where she states "we are just looking for cheap and tasty food and dont care it is is authentic or not". I guess she is speaking for the rest of you in that she uses "We". There is nothing snooty about it. Either you are comparing cheap and tasty food experiences or you are comparing authentic dining experiences. You cant have it both ways.
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2-15-2010 @7:56PM MOM_IN_OHIO said... None for me, thanks.
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