Chuy’s opened on April 16, 1982 in an old, abandoned Texas Barbeque joint on iconic Barton Springs Road in Austin, TX. There was seating for about sixty, a women’s restroom the size of a broom closet and a men’s restroom that was, well, outside. Founders Mike Young and John Zapp had a vision of a fun and funky Tex-Mex restaurant that served authentic and fresh food in an atmosphere that appealed to everyone. From these humble beginnings Chuy’s was born.
Tex what? While we refer to our food as “Tex-Mex”, our menu is made up of a combination of flavors, with recipes and ingredients from across New Mexico, Mexican border towns, the Rio Grande Valley, deep South Texas, Austin and beyond. Our Green Chile sauce recipe was “borrowed” from a little hole-in-the-wall in Española, New Mexico, and our fajita marinade is an old South Texas family recipe (used at some “infamous” South Padre Island beach parties.) Mike and John wanted to bring FRESH to Tex-Mex, and that commitment to food is still the core of everything Chuy’s does today.
