AUSTIN TX, November 7, 2006 -- Goode Partners LLC, the New York-based private equity firm, today announced it has made a strategic investment in Chuy’s Comida Deluxe, Inc., the successful Tex-Mex restaurant chain headquartered here. The investment by Goode Partners, combined with debt financing from Wells Fargo Foothill and HBK Investments, will help drive the company’s geographic expansion and accelerate growth of the popular Chuy’s® brand.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Mike Young and John Zapp, the founders and current owners of Chuy’s,” said Joe Ferreira, one of Goode’s founding partners. “Mike, John and the company’s management team have done an outstanding job of building a culture that is passionate about exceeding customer expectations, which is a critical success factor in the restaurant industry. We look forward to working with this outstanding team and providing the added resources to help take the company to the next level in its growth strategy.”
Commenting for Chuy’s, Mike Young said, “We have a great deal of excitement about this relationship and what it means not only for the Chuy’s brand, but also for the team that helped build it into what it is today. We look forward to the career opportunities this provides Chuy’s current and future associates.”
Chuy’s Comida Deluxe, Inc. was founded in 1982 and currently operates eight restaurants throughout Texas-- four in Austin, two in Houston, one in Dallas and one in San Antonio—and is preparing for the second-quarter 2007 opening of an additional location in Austin at Loop 1 South and William Cannon.
Chuy’s has emerged as a market leader in each community it serves. The company is a regular winner of the Austin Chronicle annual reader’s poll for the Best Tex-Mex, Best Décor and Best Margaritas, and consistently finishes in the top-ten overall favorite restaurants in the city. In 2006, Chuy’s was chosen as Most Popular restaurant in Austin and the Hill Country in the Zagat Survey of Texas Restaurants.
About Goode Partners
