Tex-Mex restaurant chain says shutterings will not impact development plans
Chuy’s Holdings Inc., which earlier this year closed a location in Lakewood, Colo., this past weekend abruptly closed another restaurant in the Country Club Plaza in Kanas City, Mo.
KCTV in Kansas City reported that the Austin-based Tex-Mex casual-dining brand posted a sign on the door Sunday that said, “We have permanently closed the location and apologize for any inconvenience.” The closure comes amid others announced in the casual-dining segment that included some in the Red Lobster bankruptcy as well as others at Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and Outback Steakhouse.
Nation’s Restaurant News reached out to Chuy’s Holdings, but it had not received a response by press time.
In a first-quarter earnings call on May 9, Chuy’s executives said the company had 102 restaurants, including a period opening new unit in New Braunfels, Texas. “
“Subsequent to the first quarter of 2024, the company opened one new restaurant in Austin, Texas, and closed one restaurant in Lakewood, Colo.,” the company said in a press release at the time.
Steve Hislop, Chuy’s president and CEO, said on the earning call: “This is aligned with our plans to open two new restaurants in the first half of 2024, and we were pleased with the performance of these restaurants thus far.
“As we look ahead to the remainder of 2024,” Hislop said, “our pipeline remains robust, and we plan on opening between six to eigh new restaurants in our core markets for the year.”
For the first quarter ended March 31, Chuy’s net income was $6..9 million, or 40 cents a share, compared to $8.2 million, or 45 cents a share, in the prior-year period. Revenues in the quarter slipped to $110.5 million from $112.5 million in the same period last year.
Chuy’s, founded in 1982, owns and operates full-service restaurants across 16 states.
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