Photo Gallery Chuy's opens today on Gunbarrel Road View 11 Photos

If you go What: Chuy’s Tex-Mex restaurant When: 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday Where: 2271 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga

Brian Wolfe pulled a small stand-up freezer away from the wall in the kitchen at Chuy's, a swarm of workers in red T-shirts bustling here and there.

"You see this freezer?" Wolfe asked.

It looked barely big enough for one adult to stand-up inside.

"This is the only freezer for the entire restaurant," Wolfe said.

It's a point he takes pride in. Chuy's gets fresh deliveries of meat and produce six days a week. The only food items on the menu that sit in a freezer are french fries and ice cream.

Chuy's is a Texas-based Tex-Mex restaurant chain and opens its doors to the public for the first time today at 11 a.m. The restaurant has stores all around Chattanooga already — in Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta and Birmingham.

The chain started in Austin, Texas, in 1982 and today has ballooned to more than 70 locations (open and coming soon) across the eastern part of the country.

Gil Minor, area supervisor for the Tex-Mex chain, was on hand Monday afternoon for a preview opening of the new Chattanooga Chuy's store, and he said the city makes a good addition to the company's portfolio.

The restaurant is fully staffed currently with around 170 employees.

"I was really happy with the wonderful people we were able to hire," Minor said. "You're hiring personality. I can teach you teach you how to wait a table. I can't teach you how to smile and be friendly."

William Stohler was one of many workers handling Monday's walk through and sneak peek. He's a Chattanoogan who left a different restaurant in the city to join the Chuy's staff as a cocktail server and soon, a bartender.

During the application process, Stohler said at one point he was asked to draw his favorite cartoon character.

"I did my best Peter Griffin," he said Monday.

Rachel Camp is another Chattanooga native, but this is her first shot at waiting tables.

"I've never served before in my life," she said, and laughed, Monday.

But she liked the idea of coming into a restaurant starting from scratch and being able to jump in at ground level with other members of the wait staff.

Also, she had eaten at the Chuy's in Knoxville before and knew she liked the food before ever applying for a job.

She was hired in person during the application process. When asked to draw a cartoon, she opted for Elsa, the older sister from Disney's "Frozen."

Camp won't be working today's mad rush, but she'll be starting later this week.

Both Stohler and Camp during training this past week tried every item on the Chuy's menu — which was both a delicious and a daunting task.

Stohler jokes he gained 10 pounds.

Christine Bailey, general manager of the Chattanooga store, said Monday she doesn't know what to expect when the doors open today.

"The phone's been non-stop," she said.

Bailey said she has taken around 300 calls just in the last couple of days about the opening.

"It's going to be a great location for us," she said.

The restaurant opens today at 11 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.

Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.