Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ: All the Details on the Texas Restaurant’s Sudden Closure - Eater Austin

"It’s been a whirlwind of troubles for iconic Texas barbecue and Tex-Mex restaurant Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ in Buda, which closed abruptly on April 25, 2024. Husband-and-wife co-owners pitmaster Miguel Vidal and Modesty Vidal opened Valentina’s as a food truck in 2013, and moved throughout the city, from West Sixth at Star Bar to far south Austin on Menchaca Road. The couple always had the goal of opening a full physical restaurant, and that dream was fully realized in Buda with the help of investment and space from the City of Buda and the Buda Economic Development Corporation. The large space opened within the Buda Mill & Grain Co. development in June 2023. In April, the Vidals announced that Valentina’s would temporarily close through early May because their business would be sold to new owners and operate under new management. It was during this hiatus that Austin Business Journal reported allegations that of mismanagement at the restaurant and tip theft as well as a claims of debts owed to various parties. One of those was Austin financial hospitality tech startup InKind, which was Valentina’s senior creditor. CEO Johann Moonesinghe also expressed that he was in the process of buying the restaurant from the Vidals by creating a separate LLC to operate the business. Valentina’s was pegged to reopen on Wednesday, May 8, but that still hasn’t happened yet. And it turns out that the physical space has been put up for lease. And during this hiatus, the Vidals haven’t responded to any questions regarding the business." - Nadia Chaudhury