We've had our eye on Chattanooga for a long time now.
Tex-Mex restaurant company Chuy’s is planning on entering the Chattanooga market next summer with a unit to open near Hamilton Place mall.
“We’ve had our eye on Chattanooga for a long time now,” said Kianne Hilburn, the Austin, Texas-based chain’s marketing manager.
The company is looking at going into space that held Romano’s Macaroni Grill at 2271 Gunbarrel Road. But Hilburn added that there’s no signed lease yet and the company is still in talks with the property owner.
Macaroni Grill closed earlier this week after nearly two decades at the site.
Chuy’s tries to build each of its units with a different exterior appearance.
Chuy’s interiors often have palm trees and other features, such as hubcaps and Elvis Presley shrines. Hilburn said the restaurateur usually hires about 150 people when it opens a new eatery.
“We make everything from scratch every day,” she said. “It takes a lot of manpower.”
Chuy’s already has restaurants in Nashville, Knoxville, Murfreesboro and Atlanta among its 67 locations mostly in the South and Midwest.
Steve Hislop, chief executive of Chuy’s Holdings Inc., said earlier this month the company opened two new restaurants in its third quarter ending Sept. 27, and plans are to open eight for the year.
The company reported third quarter revenue of $73.9 million, up 15.3 percent from a year ago. Net income climbed 31 percent to $4.1 million, or 24 cents per share, the company reported.
“Our brand continues to resonate well with our guests,” Hislop said in a statement.
The restaurant chain is known for its upbeat, irreverent atmosphere, with eateries featuring auto hubcaps on the ceiling, an Elvis Presley shrine and neon.
But Hilburn said the company tries to make each unit look differently.
“We’re pretty funky,” she said, adding that each city has different ordinances of what’s allowed.
The marketing manager said the company prefers converting existing structures when it opens a new restaurant.
“It has a soul,” she said.
Hilburn said the company likes Chattanooga’s economy, and the chain does well in “university towns.”
“We’re very mom and pop in a lot of ways,” she said.
The first Chuy’s opened on April 16, 1982, in an old, abandoned Texas barbecue site in Austin. Late last decade, with only 15 restaurants around Texas, the company set out to expand. It expanded into Tennessee in 2009 when it opened its first Chuy’s unit Franklin south of Nashville.
Contact staff writer Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.