The U.S. Department of Labor has its sights set on Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ, a popular Buda eatery, conducting a full-scale investigation into its labor practices, as the establishment buckles under financial pressure with a reported $2.3 million in debt. The announcement, made without fanfare, comes at a time when the establishment is already wrangling with a slew of accusations ranging from tip policy grievances to employees lamenting bounced checks and a breach of lease due to unpaid rent.
The financial straits of this once-celebrated Texas establishment have been starkly outed by the Austin Business Journal, revealing a quagmire of debt owed to lenders, employees, a landlord, and even the state of Texas; the owners Miguel and Modesty Vidal are under scrutiny by the Department of Labor, and on top of that, they're facing a mountain of backlash from customers and employees alike over service and payment issues, it's not surprising then, that the owners have ceded control to new management in an effort to salvage the sinking ship, closing its doors till May 8 as part of the transition process but the future remains uncertain.
For the Vidals, the rapid expansion from a compact food truck to the expansive 6,000 sq. ft. premise in Buda's downtown seems to have been their undoing, an investment that brought notoriety but also unforeseen challenges to the night and day operations of their establishment. In a candid social media statement, the couple owned up to not meeting the high standards of their loyal customers, "For us, scaling our business from 600 sq. ft. to 6,000 sq. ft. 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," the Vidals wrote, according to KXAN.
Realm of restaurant finance InKind, led by CEO Johann Moonesinghe, is set to inherit the reins of the beleaguered barbecue joint, as the company led by Moonesinghe is the most senior secured creditor of the business, Valentina's owes the firm more than $1.5 million, a worrying overestimate came when Valentina's business projections failed to meet expectations, nose-diving from a projected $10 million to a mere $3 million trajectory for the year, according to Moonesinghe, it's clear that while the Vidals rustled up top-tier barbecue, culinary prowess alone cannot sustain a business, "Ultimately though, producing mouthwatering food is not enough when running a restaurant" Moonesinghe shared in a written statement, as per Austin Business Journal.
Buda's city officials had initially rolled out financial incentives to the tune of roughly $457,000 for Valentina's, a move intended to bolster local business development and contribute to small-town charm retention, now these plans face a marked hiccup with Valentina's precarious situation, however, Jennifer Storm, Buda EDC CEO, remains optimistic, calling the situation "heartbreaking" yet still a worthy cause to support, "Small businesses are the heart and soul of our community. It's hard to be a small business owner, and we're trying to support them through that," Storm said, as cited by Austin Business Journal.
