This week's Someone 2 Know may be familiar to Reno locals - especially if you dine in midtown.  The owner of the restaurant named after his wife and himself - Mari Chuy's Mexican Kitchen, says when he came to the U.S. he knew he would have to start at the bottom.  And he did - as a dishwasher. 

He is now a successful entrepreneur and active community leader.

Chef and restaurant owner Jesus "Chuy" Gutierrez works hard - because he genuinely loves what he does; "The restaurant business, customer service, it goes through my blood, it's the only thing I know how to do well.” says Gutierrez.

He's been doing it nearly his whole life;

"I was born in Michoacan, Mexico.  I was born in there, I was raised in León, Guanajuato”.

Gutierrez started cooking when he was just six years old; “My boss, he stacked three or four boxes, so I could climb on the boxes and help him.”

Chuy moved to Reno in 1979

"I started working with the Carano family for 28 years of my life.  I'll tell you what, the best experience ever - they gave me the tools that I needed and here we are today”.

Today, Gutierrez is still friendly with the Caranos...and now a business owner himself - three times over; "Mari Chuy's - Midtown, Sparks and Rancharrah.”

The Rancharrah location is the newest one, called Mari Chuy's Tequileria y Botanas; "Our focus on tequila, mezcal.  We're gonna bring a little bit from Oaxaca, Mexico and Tequila, Mexico - and botanas is appetizers”

This new spot is where, on September 16th, everyone is invited to the Mexican Independence Day Celebration in The Village at Rancharrah

“We're gonna have mariachis, we're gonna have ballet folklorico, we're gonna have horses - dancing horses in there. It's just gonna be a beautiful family event!”

Jesus says being an active and giving member of the community is what he's always strived for - and he's grateful to all who have supported him and the business; "They believed in our dream, they believed in the risk of a small business and - and, here we are.”

Today Is Mexican Independence Day - and the unofficial kick off for Hispanic Heritage Month. That Celebration at Mari Chuys at Rancharrah's starts at 4:00 this afternoon (9/16/2021). 

You can find more info here -

And here -

And if you're wondering about the name "Chuy", well, In Mexico it is the common nickname for someone named Jesus.