BUDA, Texas — A well-known Central Texas restaurant will be shutting its doors for good.
On Wednesday, the co-owner of Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ told the Austin Business Journal (ABJ) that the eatery will not reopen in its Buda location.
The 6,000-square-foot restaurant, located along South Main Street, temporarily closed earlier this spring after reportedly owing more than $2.3 million to the city of Buda, a landlord and more.
Instead of opening back up in the space, Valentina's is now set to be replaced by yet another restaurant.
According to the ABJ, the Buda Economic Development Corp and Buda Mill & Grain agreed last month to offer $200,000 in incentives over a five-year time frame to a new restaurant to take over the lot.
The potential new tenants must lease out the building by mid-January of 2025, just less than six months after the original agreement was made.
Valentina's and Buda Mill & Grain was reportedly given $285,000 in incentives before it opened last year. Approximately $228,500 was paid to the EDC, but the developer itself only paid Valentina's in part, as it utilized some of the funds to purchase restaurant equipment.
The history of Valentina's
Before its recent closure, Valentina's started out as a popular Tex-Mex food truck in South Austin.
Opened by co-owner Miguel Vidal, the spot eventually moved to its brick-and-mortar spot last year in Buda, but not without its share of troubles.
Just a few months ago, Vidal announced the restaurant's temporary shutdown after it reportedly failed to pay more than $2.3 million in rent money, as well as to the city of Buda, the state of Texas for taxes and others.
Valentina's also received criticism after its reported unfair treatment of employees, which included allegedly not paying some of its workers.
The restaurant was originally set to reopen on May 9 under restaurant finance company InKind, but now appears to be closed permanently.
