Kuyashii, what does it mean?

To understand the word Kuyashii, let us give you a little more background on who we are and how we started. Chef Christian and Bartender Juan opened Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen in 2016 with minimal restaurant experience and zero business owner experience. Terras was initially located at 915 E Elizabeth St. (now Nolitas Pizza) right in front of HEB before it closed down. The restaurant had about 45 guests and a bar top with 12 bar stools. We built a restaurant with the smallest budget possible, and it took us a year to finally open. When we did, we spent most nights sitting in a booth waiting for people to show up; luckily, we never had a day when at least 1 table showed up. Many saw the vision of downtown growing, but they knew two kids would not make it (Christian was 23 at the time, and Juan was 20), so it’s safe to say the general public was expecting us to close down soon. We’ve been open for seven years now, and Terras is located at 1212 E Washington St. in a historic building from the 1800s that sits 150 and opens Tuesday - Sunday for Lunch, Dinner & Sunday brunch.

Now, let’s go through the word “Kuyashii” more than a meaning. It’s a feeling or an expression of one’s emotions. Kuyashii is the feeling you get when the terms of doubters fuel your hunger to succeed rather than putting you down. That’s the feeling we got every time we were put down, every time people doubted our work and our intentions. We’ve used that feeling all these years to fuel our growth and to keep improving every day, no matter how many times we fail. Kuyashii stands in what used to be another restaurant that unfortunately did not make it. We knew deep in our bones how hard it is to run a restaurant, and when we were looking for a name that meant something, we thought Kuyashii was the most appropriate given the space and our roots. For us and everyone out there, Kuyashii implies that no matter what everyone else thinks, you can be successful as long as you use their words for your good.