VALENTINA’S TEX MEX BBQ IS BEING SOLD TO NEW OWNERS

Texas barbecue restaurant Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ is closed in Buda from April 25 through May 8 as it undergoes a management change and is in the middle of being sold to new owners, as reported by Austin Business Journal (ABJ).

Valentina’s co-founders pitmaster Miguel Vidal and Modesty Vidal announced the temporary closure and impending management change on Instagram on April 25. Jennifer Storm, the CEO of the Buda Economic Development Corporation — which invested in the restaurant — told ABJ that the sale is in the middle of being made now. The new owners will be named once it’s finished.

Over on Instagram, the Vidals wrote, “For us, scaling our business from 600 square feet to 6,000 square feet has proven more than we can manage, and we recognize and admit to the many issues and challenges Valentina’s has had since we’ve moved.” They’re referring to issues with the restaurant’s alleged tip stealing a month after it opened last summer. Statesman food editor Matthew Odam shared that Valentina’s food and service “did not meet the lofty standards” of the newspaper.

Under the new management and eventual new ownership, the Vidals note in their Instagram post that the couple will still be at the restaurant. Eater has reached out for more information.

ABJ also reports that Valentina’s is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division “for their business practices.” The publication also reports that the restaurant owes at least $2.3 million in debt. Over $1.5 million of that is to hospitality financial startup InKind, as its CEO Johann Moonesinghe writes to Eater. He also notes that the Valentina’s landlord “locked them out for breach of their lease and significant past due rent,” on April 26.

The couple started Valentina’s in 2013 as a food truck on West Sixth where Miguel Vidal blended Tex-Mex and barbecue flavors and techniques, leading to the barbecue-laden breakfast tacos among other smoked meats and dishes. Since then, the business has gone through different locations, iterations, and off-shoot trucks (Violet Taco, Cash Cows Burgers), all with their dream of opening a physical restaurant. But that never shook out until the Buda location at 308 South Main Street, which opened as their first full-on restaurant in the mixed-use development Buda Mill & Grain in June 2023.

Update, April 29: This article, originally published on April 26, has been updated to include information about Valentina’s Department of Labor investigation, the restaurant’s debts, and comments by InKind CEO Johann Moonesinghe.

2024-04-26T18:27:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd