The Food Biz: Chuy's charges out of the gate

Mexican chain run by former O'Charley's execs has strong start in Cool Springs [From our print edition featured in Monday's City Paper]

Email | Print By Dana Kopp Franklin

Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chuy’s opened two weeks ago in Cool Springs and has been mobbed with customers, with waits on some nights of 90 minutes or more.

Chuy’s is known for multifarious margaritas, kitschy Tex-Mex décor, an Elvis shrine in every restaurant, and food that is generally rated a notch above typical chain Mexican fare.

The Chuy’s at 3061 Mallory Lane is the company’s 16th location and the first outside Texas. The busy opening may be partially due to the large number of Texas expatriates in the Nashville area who are familiar with the Chuy’s concept.

Meanwhile, the top brass at Chuy’s is very familiar with the Nashville market. CEO Steve Hislop is former concept president at O’Charley’s. Frank Biller, Chuy’s vice president of operations for the Southeast, is another O’Charley’s veteran, and he still lives in Franklin.

Hislop, who joined Chuy’s after leaving O’Charley’s in 2006, has said he’d like to see a string of Chuy’s locations all along the Interstate 65 corridor and down to the gulf, then looping west on Interstate 10 back to Houston.

The next launch will be in Murfreesboro, set for sometime in March, Chuy’s spokeswoman Ashley Ingle said. She added that other cities the company is exploring include Birmingham, Ala., and Louisville, Ky.

Chuy’s menu is stuffed with Tex-Mex favorites like burritos, enchiladas and fajitas. Tortillas are made from scratch throughout the day while customers watch. The company says sauces are also made fresh daily, and there are around a dozen on the menu. Hatch Green Chili uses premium peppers harvested in Hatch, N.M. The signature Tex-Mex Sauce unites red chilis and beef.

The menu is the same at all locations, though more text was added for Nashville diners, explaining Tex-Mex concepts like flautas (corn tortillas, rolled into a flute shape, filled with chicken and fried, then served with guacamole, salsa and sour cream for dipping).

Margaritas and “Texas martinis” (made with tequila) are big sellers at Chuy’s, and happy hour 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday features a “nacho car” loaded with ingredients for free make-your-own nachos. Chuy’s large, tropical-looking covered patio is sure to be popular when the weather warms up.

Inside, there’s an entire dining room devoted to Elvis memorabilia (no mere wall shrine is enough for Nashville). Another room has a ceiling bedecked with shiny hubcaps, another familiar fixture of Chuy’s décor.

For now, would-be diners are advised to arrive on off-hours to avoid a wait (at least until the novelty wears off or dozens of Chuy’s line the interstate). Ingle says folks waiting for tables can enjoy free chips and salsa in the bar, which serves non-alcoholic drinks as well as powerful margaritas to make the time pass more convivially.