Texas BBQ Restaurant Battered by Scandal, Debt, and Scrutiny Calls It Quits

Sometimes enough is enough. At least in the case of a once-iconic restaurant in Austin, Texas.

Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ has been one of Austin, Texas' most-loved dining spots since 2013. The restaurant's tiny beginnings are rooted in a food truck operated by a man from San Antonio with a dream.

As Valentina's popularity grew, so has its troubles. And there certainly seemed no shortage of trouble for Valentina, indeed.

Trouble first flared up in July 2023 when leaked internal documents outlining tipping policies made the rounds on Reddit and social media. The policy sparked an uproar of controversy among social media communities in that the documents listed infractions that would result in a worker losing access to tips.

Described as a privilege, the documents detail these infractions as: write ups, no-call no-shows, and quitting without giving notice.

The outpouring of ire from the public was eye-opening. Even the most devoted fans of Valentina's expressed disapproval and described the policy as "theft".

The owners (of course) responded wisely by posting an updated document on their Facebook page......along with a defense of the original one.

Yikes.

After that, it's seemed like a crescendo of disaster for Valentina's.

The controversy surrounding the tip policy was a disruption that eventually led to another post made by the owners on Valentina's Facebook page.

In the April 25 post, a temporary closing and a change in management was announced. And then nothing posted after that.

As it turns out, a reporter with the south Texas news outlet MySA was able to confirm that the U.S. Department of Labor was investigating Valentina's for reasons they did not specify.

Additionally, the Austin Business Journal published a finding that "Valentina’s owed more than $2 million to various investors, including the City of Buda"

According to coverage from The Chron, The restaurant's Buda, Texas storefront remains empty and is up for lease. The Buda Economic Development Corporation is currently seeking a new tenant to take Valentina's place and is offering a $200,000 incentive to do so.