Rafael Valenzuela doesn’t wear a chef’s hat when he cooks at Chukis Tacos No. 2 in Memphis and Chukis Deli Mexicana in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Rogelio Barreto, aka Chuki, does most of the cooking at the restaurants, which are owned by Valenzuela and his brother, Abraham Valenzuela. “[Barreto]’s the main cook,” Rafael says. “He’s our foundation. He teaches everybody.”
And Rafael doesn’t wear a sombrero when he plays the vihuela (rhythm guitar) in his family’s mariachi band, Mariachi Guadalajara. “[Sombreros] are heavy. They’re hot. They’re usually just used when there’s a big presentation or something more elegant.”
And, he adds, “To tell you the truth, I’ve only worn it once in my whole life.”
It was music first for Rafael, Abraham, and their brother Pedro when they were growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico. “We were raised as musicians. Music was our first job. Actually, that’s the only work I’ve known before doing the restaurant.”
Guitar wasn’t Rafael’s first instrument. “I went through violin first in elementary. Then trumpet for a few years after that. Then, again, violin.”
When he was around 13, Rafael began playing violin in the family mariachi band, which also includes his dad, at “serenades and parties.”
Rafael began playing the vihuela in the band after the family moved to Memphis in 1994. Pedro plays the guitarron (the Mexican bass guitar), which, like the vihuela, is shaped differently from other guitars. “The back part is like a turtle conch,” he says.
Both guitars are the “foundation of the rhythm for mariachis,” which also can include a regular guitar, violins, trumpets, and a harp. “The vihuela and the guitarron are always paired together.”
When he’s performing, Rafael wears a “mariachi suit. Black, most of the time.” The custom-made suits also come in brown and gray.
Abraham was the first to move to Memphis. They eventually reunited the family in the mariachi band.
In 1997, Rafael, Abraham, and Pedro opened a grocery store, Supermercado Guadalajara, at Winchester Road and Mendenhall Road. About a year and a half later, they moved to a bigger location, where they also opened a restaurant. It was the first time they ever thought about opening a restaurant, Rafael says. They said, “Let’s go for it.”
They hired cooks, but Rafael’s mother also pitched in. “Some of the cooks knew what to do. My mom said, ‘Hey, let’s do this this way.’ We just kind of got it together and it worked out.”
Then Barreto showed up. “He came in asking for work.”
He began working in the kitchen. “He always had a touch. Now, he did learn a lot from his mom.”
They eventually sold the grocery store/restaurant. Abraham opened another restaurant, Rancho Grande, in Southaven before branching out to an Olive Branch location. He later sold the Southaven location.
Ten years or so later, Abraham learned the old Steak Escape space at 7425 Goodman Road next to Kroger was for lease in Olive Branch. “We jumped into it.”
Calling it “Chukis” began as a joke, Rafael says. “We were going to call it ‘Chukis’ and we just laughed. Probably a good two weeks we went through names. All sorts of names. And we didn’t like anything, but ‘Chukis.’ It sounded good.”
Barreto is now a partner in the restaurant, Rafael says. They also used “Chukis” in the name of their Poplar location, which they opened a year later at 3445 Poplar Avenue Suite Number 1.
The cuisine at both restaurants isn’t from any particular region, Rafael says. “The way a lot of people have described it is ‘a sit-in taco truck.’ To me, it’s like home-cooking. The flavor. The way it’s cooked is maybe street food or something like that. It’s really served the way we eat it at home. Same flavor.”
The birria items are their most popular offerings, Rafael says. Birria is a soup made with brisket garnished with onions and cilantro. It’s served with tacos, nachos, or burritos. People dunk the items in the birria the same way they do with roast beef and au jus sandwiches.
The Torta Cubana is another popular item. The sandwich, which is like a Cuban sandwich, includes breaded chicken, steak, pastor, or hot dogs. Pastor is “marinated pork with a little bit of pineapple, red marinade, and achiote.”
The same menu is available at both Chukis locations, but breakfast is only served at the Olive Branch restaurant on Wednesdays through Sundays.
Chilaquiles are one of their breakfast staples, Rafael says. “It’s chips that are simmered in red or green sauce and then it’s cooked. Once it’s cooked we put an over-easy egg on top. On top of the egg, sour creams and queso fresco. That’s like a Mexican fresh crumble cheese.”
Rafael and his family have performed with their mariachi band on Cinco de Mayo at the Olive Branch restaurant. They also play between 6 and 9 p.m. every other Thursday night at Rancho Grande. The band has played for many years at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s Día de los Muertos Festival & Parade.
Abraham is slated to open another restaurant, which he will call Azaderos, in about six weeks on Forest Hill Irene Road.
They want to eventually open another Chukis location, but Rafael says, “We haven’t jumped into it yet. I guess once we find a spot it’ll be the same way that it’s happened with these: ‘Okay. Boom. Let’s go for it.’”