AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin’s homegrown restaurant chain Chuy’s is at the center of a $605 million purchase, with the joint agreement between Chuy’s and Darden Restaurants, Inc. announced Wednesday.
The inaugural Chuy’s opened off Barton Springs Road in 1982 and has since expanded to 101 restaurants across 15 states, as of July. Nationally, Chuy’s employs approximately 7,400 workers, per reporting from the Austin Business Journal.
“We are excited about the opportunity to join the Darden family and its portfolio of well-respected brands,” Steven Hislop — the chairman, CEO and president of Chuy’s — said in the announcement. “Darden shares many of our same core values, particularly our operating philosophy and strong team member cultures. Together we will accelerate our business goals and bring our authentic, made-from-scratch Tex-Mex to more guests and communities.”
But what exactly is Darden Restaurants, and what do they own?
The same year the Chuy’s brand was born, Darden rolled out its first Olive Garden concept restaurant in Orlando. Within seven years, Olive Garden had expanded to more than 145 restaurants by 1989, per Yahoo! Finance reporting.
Darden Restaurants also owns LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and the Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain. The latter two are some of the company’s more recent additions to its portfolio.
Darden Restaurants acquired Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen for approximately $780 million in March 2017, per a Darden company update. In May 2023, Darden took the helm of Ruth’s Hospitality Group for roughly $715 million, receiving the Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain as part of that deal.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House operates approximately 200 locations globally, including one off Sixth Street in Austin.
Prior to Tuesday’s news, Chuy’s was already expanding its footprint locally. It opened its latest Austin location in the Mueller neighborhood in late April, marking the company’s first in the eastern portion of the city. A 5,500-square-foot restaurant and patio site is also planned in Hutto, city leaders announced last September.