Keep Middle America Weird

It appears the rumors we’ve been hearing for a few months now are true: Chuy’s (or part of it, at least) has been sold and will be expanding its brand over the next five years with up to 30 new restaurants.

The privately-owned restaurant, founded by Mike Young and John Zapp in 1982, has received a bunch of cash from Goode Partners LLC of New York, a private equity group. As part of the deal, the founders have sold an “unspecified portion of Chuy’s to Goode Partners based on a plan to open up to 30 more Chuy's locations by 2011,” according to a story in the Austin Business Journal.

As with all such corporate dealings, the founders promise that the expansion of their brand will not result in any watering down of the product – both image and food, we assume.
"For our company to do well, it needs to grow," Young says. "And Goode Partners was adamant that we don't change a thing, that we keep Chuy's, Chuy's."

According to the ABJ story, “the partnership isn't wasting any time in the expansion process: The next Chuy's is set to open in the second quarter of 2007 at The Shops at Arbor Trails near MoPac Expressway and William Cannon Drive in South Austin. The following three locations will likely open in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.”

After bolstering the existing markets, it looks like the boys will take the show on the road, with more than half of the new 30 restaurants to open outside of Texas.

[more from the ABJ}

Though neither side of the partnership would divulge financial specifics and it's unclear whether Goode Partners purchased a majority percentage of Chuy's, Ferreira confirms that the deal calls for Goode Partners to invest between $10 million and $30 million of equity capital alone.

"As a firm, we do strive for having a majority in the business," he says. "But whether we have a majority or not, the real thing for us is whether we can work with the people we partner with. In this case, we not only agreed on what we could collectively accomplish, we've grown to like each other more and more."

In terms of governing the business, Young and Zapp will each be on the Chuy's board, as will Ferreira and Goode Partners Principal David Oddi.

We think it’s safe to assume that they sold a majority. Congratulations, boys. And, remember, when people call you sellouts, which they inevitably will (because you are), you can always respond the way Lars Ulrich did when people started calling Metallica sellouts, (paraphrasing) “Yea, we’re sell-outs, we sell out every fucking arena in every fucking town.” Boo-yea!

Emo’s in Vegas? Chuy’s in Bloomington? Weird, indeed.

*Image taken from Chris Chappelear on Flickr*