Before the restaurant even opened, Chuy's in Rogers had more than 3,500 likes on Facebook. With its soft opening on Jan. 13 and official opening Jan. 14, the fervent following lived up to the hype.

The Tex-Mex chain restaurant serves reasonably priced, heavily portioned meals with emphasis on hand-prepared, signature recipes. Chuy's was founded with authentic qualities of Tex-Mex cuisine - hand-rolled tortillas, freshly chopped salsa, housemade refried beans, slow-cooked sauces and fire-roasted meats.

Flour, corn and blue corn tortillas are hand-prepared behind a glass window in the main dining room. Customers can observe a team of employees mixing, rolling and pressing the tortillas, then watch them bake on a rotating cooktop and anticipate their arrival table-side.

Preparation in the kitchen is performed with the same personalized intention. Whole roasted chickens are prepared in house and the meat is hand pulled for hearty, juicy portions. Anaheim peppers are fire roasted then stuffed by hand with cheese, shrimp, beef or chicken to make chile rellenos. Salsa fresca with fresh jalapenos is prepared every hour and served with crisp, fried tortilla chips.

Traditional accompaniments to each meal include refried beans and Mexican rice or green chile rice. Chuy's also offers charro beans - cooked pinto beans served soup-style with mixed vegetables.

A full bar rounds out the offerings with margaritas that are made with fresh-squeezed lime juice and Texas martinis that are hand-shaken and served with jalapeno-stuffed olives.

The Tex-Mex cafe generates a fun-loving atmosphere with quirky decor such as an Elvis shrine. Happy Hour is served 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and features a nacho bar served out of the trunk of a life-sized classic automobile with tortilla chips, salsa, beans, ground beef and chile con queso.

The restaurant chain also has a commitment to give back to the community. The Rogers location has elected the Sunshine School and Development Center to be the primary recipient for charitable contributions. Prior to opening, Chuy's also partnered with Spay Arkansas and Dog Party USA to gather the portraits for their signature Dog Wall.

The first Chuy's opened in 1982 in Austin, Texas. It hadn't made it into Arkansas until May 2013 with a location in Little Rock, but the zealous response sparked plans for a Northwest Arkansas location. There is discussion of another Chuy's location in Arkansas, perhaps in Fayetteville, according to Chuy's area supervisor Travis Hudson, as reported on arkansasbusiness.com.

The new Chuy's is located at 4889 W. Pauline Whitaker Parkway in Rogers. More information is available by calling (479) 254-2489 or at facebook.com/ChuysNWArkansas.

8 housemade sauces

Ranchero is a mild, vegetarian red sauce with fire-roasted tomatoes, cilantro, onions, bell peppers, caramelized onions and spices.

Tomatillo blends fresh green tomatoes with garlic, cilantro and green onions. It is mild and slightly tangy.

The Deluxe Tomatillo adds sour cream and fresh herbs to the fresh Tomatillo sauce.

The Creamy Jalapeno is a medium-hot signature sauce defined as "so special you have to know someone to get it."

Tex-Mex is an authentic chile con carne red chile sauce with medium heat.

Green Chile is a hot sauce made with chicken stock, tomatoes, New Mexican green chiles, caramelized onions and spices.

Hatch Green Chile is a spicy, house favorite made with beef stock, fire-roasted New Mexican green chiles and caramelized onions.

Boom-Boom sauce is a combination of several sauces that results in a medium-hot cheesy sauce with roasted New Mexican green chiles, tomatillos, green onions, cilantro and lime juice.

NAN Dining Guide Cover on 01/19/2014