Beloved Triangle taco brand is expanding with a new location in a Garner Walmart
A new kind of Chubby’s is set to debut in an unexpected spot.
The popular Triangle taco brand is opening a new location this spring, building its latest restaurant inside a Walmart Supercenter in Johnston County. Chubby’s will open the new restaurant in the Walmart at 5141 NC-42 in Garner, near the intersection with Interstate 40.
Chubby’s first opened in 2007 in Durham and grew to five locations in the Triangle. After a couple locations closed, Chubby’s parent company Kairos LLC filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
Owner Rudy Theale and a group of investors took over the brand and its two Triangle restaurants in 2021. Theale is a longtime Triangle restaurant owner, previously operating Smash Waffles and Pizza La Stella in Raleigh. The jump into Chubby’s, Theale said, was a life-time love of Mexican food.
“Chubby’s, frankly, is just an awesome brand, I found that out as a customer and had an opportunity to get involved,” Theale said in a phone interview. “We saw this as an opportunity to bring authentic, real-style Mexican street food to the masses....There’s no better place to bring something to the masses than Walmart stores.”
The Garner Chubby’s will also serve alcohol, a rarity for restaurants in Walmart stores, Theale said. That appears to be one piece in a larger shift for the restaurant offerings inside the retail giant.
For decades, Walmart has partnered with fast food franchises inside its stores, most famously McDonald’s and Subway. More recently, Walmart has added fast casual options, like Houston-based poke bar Uncle Sharkii, according to a story in Food & Wine.
The Garner Chubby’s will serve the same menu diners will recognize from the Durham and Raleigh restaurants, Theale said, including the popular salsa bar.
“The food is so good, we didn’t want to change the recipes,” Theale said of menu considerations two years ago. “We caucused customers and took their input on what they wanted to see.”
Based on that input, Theale said Chubby’s revived the taqueria’s guaca-tillo salsa, a blend of guacamole and tomatillo, and brought back a chile relleno taco. Responding to trends, Chubby’s has added birria tacos and a Mexican pizza, where the crust is made of crispy griddled cheese.
On the beverage side, Theale said Chubby’s now tries to embody a coastal Florida dive bar, serving beer, frozen and on-the-rocks margaritas and other beachy cocktails.
“As somebody who’s lived in Florida, it’s meant to feel like you’re in Key Largo, stopping at the local pub,” Theale said. “Those influences are absolute fun.”
The new Chubby’s is currently under construction and is eyeing a mid-March opening, Theale said.
Coming out of the brand’s prior bankruptcy and restaurant closings, Theale said he aimed to initially focus on its successful locations in Raleigh’s Lake Boone shopping center and Durham’s Woodcroft shopping center. Building off of that core, Theale said Chubby’s is now set to expand, offering a casual dining experience that takes its food seriously.
“We’re taking the dive bar appeal and bringing it to the masses, baby!” Theale said. “We call it the reverse mullet. We’re party in the front and business in the back. It’s important that not just the food feels right, but that the environment feels right.”
One of Raleigh’s liveliest restaurants will expand to Cary next month
Crook’s Corner, beloved Chapel Hill restaurant, could reopen this year
