Long before Show Me Chuy welcomed its first guest, Judith and Chuy García were already making room for others. The restaurant would eventually give that instinct for hospitality a larger table.
“The owner’s little brother was cooking,” Judith García recalls with a smile. “The moment I glanced into the kitchen, I fell in love.”
Judith had arrived in Springfield in August 2002 as an exchange teacher through a partnership between Missouri State University and the local school system. She had already earned a law degree in Mexico and expected her time in Missouri to be brief.
“It was supposed to be one to three years,” she says. “Just long enough to see if I liked it.”
During one of her first days in town, Dr. Robert Norton, who was helping introduce Judith to Springfield, took her and her mother to a local Italian restaurant. A self-described picky eater, Judith was not particularly excited about dinner. Then she noticed the young chef behind the stove.
That chef was Jesus “Chuy” García.
Judith returned to the restaurant again and again, hoping for an opportunity to talk with him. Eventually, a conversation led to a date. Judith and Chuy married in August 2003, one year after she arrived in Springfield. This year, they celebrated 23 years of marriage.
Chuy’s path to Springfield began on a dairy farm in Mexico, where he spent his childhood helping harvest corn and learning to cook beside his father.
“We grew up sourcing our own food, and I’ve loved cooking since I was little,” he says.
His family later moved to Chicago before relocating to Springfield in 1999 to help his brother operate a restaurant. While attending high school, Chuy worked in the kitchen and learned the restaurant business. When his brother later opened another restaurant, Chuy helped build it from the ground up, developing his culinary skills and imagining a restaurant of his own.
For years, that dream remained in the background while Judith and Chuy built their life together. Judith pursued a Ph.D., which required years of long commutes.
“There was no online learning back then,” she says. “We would drive three hours, I would take a one-hour class, and then we would drive back three hours.”
They maintained that routine for five years while raising their growing family.
At home, Judith regularly welcomed international faculty members and others who could not travel home for holidays, making room at the family table for people who might otherwise have spent those occasions alone.
When Judith and Chuy finally decided it was time to pursue the restaurant, a phone call about an available space set the process in motion.
“Everything just aligned,” Chuy says. “You can plan for years, and you still couldn’t have made things happen the way this did.”
Their friends did more than encourage them. They arrived ready to work, helping paint walls, assemble furniture and transform the space. Local artist Jorge Ortiz contributed original artwork to the dining room.
“Every detail has a piece of our friends in it,” Judith says. “When I walk in, I see them everywhere.”
Their histories also meet on the menu. After 25 years specializing in meats, Chuy brings together the Italian cuisine that shaped his career and the flavors of his Mexican heritage.
One dish shows that combination clearly: Filetto with Tequila Sauce, served with poblano pasta. The poblano and tequila bring an adventurous taste of Mexican cuisine to an Italian base. It reflects the way Chuy blends the Italian dishes he grew up cooking with his Mexican roots, giving nearly everything a little spice and what he calls “a little bit of Chuy’s love.” The dish earned best entrée honors at the 2025 Cattle Baron’s Ball. Chuy’s work received another distinction in 2026, when the Missouri Restaurant Association honored him with a Golden Fork for Best Chef.
While Chuy leads the kitchen, Judith helps oversee the business, managing operations, welcoming guests and shaping an atmosphere she considers every bit as important as the food.
She describes their philosophy simply: “You enter as a friend and leave as family.”
“As an immigrant, to be able to create a place where the atmosphere is one of community matters greatly,” Judith says. “Because that’s what Springfield did for us.”
From Chuy’s Kitchen
Food is one of the ways Judith and Chuy welcome people to their table. They shared this Mexican flan recipe so readers can bring a taste of that hospitality into their own homes.
Mexican Flan
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar, for the caramel
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until golden. Quickly pour it into a 6-inch round baking dish, tilting to coat the bottom.
- Blend the eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth. Pour over the caramel.
- Place the dish in a larger roasting pan. Add enough hot water to reach halfway up the flan dish.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the center is just set. Cool, refrigerate for at least two hours, then loosen the edges and invert onto a plate.
To learn more about Show Me Chuy’s story, menu and approach to hospitality, visit showmechuy.com or follow the restaurant on social media.
Show Me Chuy gave their lifelong instinct for hospitality a larger table.
“Every detail has a piece of our friends in it. When I walk in, I see them everywhere.”
—Judith García