Chuy’s is being sold to Darden Restaurants for a deal estimated at $605 million. The Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant opened its original location on Barton Springs Road 42 years ago.
The hubcap and Elvis-themed decor, quirky shirts and modestly priced food proved popular, and the restaurant expanded regionally as Austin grew in the 1990s and 2000s. Then, Chuy's expanded across Texas to 15 locations. The restaurant later became a publicly traded company and now creamy jalapeño cravings are satiated at more than 100 restaurants across 15 states.
Darden Restaurants owns several upscale and casual chains like Olive Garden, The Capital Grille, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The company bought then Austin-based Eddie V’s in 2011 and has since expanded to nearly 30 locations. You might also be familiar with Darden brands Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen or LongHorn Steakhouse.
Darden Restaurants, Inc., will buy all outstanding shares of Chuy’s Holding (traded on the Nasdaq composite as CHUY) at $37.50 a share, according to the companies’ joint press release. The deal will total more than $600 million and will likely close before the end of November, which is the end of Darden's next fiscal quarter. Darden is headquartered in Orlando and trades on the New York Stock Exchange as DRI.
Correction: An earlier version of the story said Chuy's opened its first location 32 years ago in 1992. The restaurant opened in 1982.
