A Knox Street institution has been uprooted to a new neighborhood: Chuy's, the Tex-Mex restaurant that had been open at 4544 McKinney Ave., for nearly 32 years, has moved to 1520 Greenville Ave., on the lowest part of Lower Greenville, where it opened on April 28.
The relocation is due to the fact that the property will be razed, part of a mixed-use development on Knox Street that's expected to open in 2026 and include a hotel, luxury condos, office space, and retail and dining space. Rumors about the likely closure of that Chuy's location had circulated for nearly a year.
A spokesperson said "It’s been an honor to be part of the Dallas community for more than 30 years and serve guests at our restaurant in the Knox-Henderson district. We’re excited to have moved to a new, bigger restaurant just two miles away and to keep offering our guests everything they love about Chuy’s."
Founded in Austin by Mike Young and John Zapp in 1982, Chuy’s became known for its Tex-Mex cuisine and eclectic decor, featuring tree sculptures, Elvis art, dog photos, and more. Signature dishes include Big As Yo Face Burritos, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom Enchiladas, and the Elvis Presley Memorial combo.
The McKinney Avenue location was also known for its Hatch chile program that included not only featuring Hatch chiles in various seasonal specials, but also positioning a chile roaster outside the restaurant right on McKinney Avenue — very much Old Knox as opposed to the glossy high-rise direction in which Knox is currently headed.
In July 2024, Chuy's was acquired by Darden Restaurants, the hospitality company that owns other big-name chains, such as Olive Garden and The Capital Grille.
The new location looks great on paper, with parking nearby and a large patio. However, the space has suffered a bit of a pall in recent years, cycling through concepts such as Austin-based gastropub Haymaker, which opened there in 2016 after redoing the space at great expense, then closing after barely a year; followed by Desert Racer, the short-lived patio spot from chef Nick Badovinus which closed in March 2024.
But Chuy’s is upbeat, outfitting the new location wiith its iconic eclectic theming, including the Chihuahua Bar, towering metal palm trees, ceilings filled with hand-carved wooden fish, and the Elvis fountain – which has just been refurbished.
There are also several enhancements:
- More seating
- A pergola-covered patio that doubles their previous amount of patio seating
- A covered outdoor waiting area with benches, with cocktail servers to fetch margaritas while diners wait
- A parking lot with 84 spaces — more than double their previous 32 spots
The new location is operated by the same team, including General Manager Jack Miller, and they've also expanded total staff to accommodate the space.
"We relocated to Greenville Avenue because it was a great area with long-term growth potential and wasn’t too far from where we served our guests for more than 30 years," their spokesperson says.
