A controversial restaurant in the Heights neighborhood of Houston (that isn’t Long Weekend) is packing up and shipping out, and the owner promises it’s coming back soon.
First, Los Chilaquiles Mexican Grill has closed. The restaurant was last seen fighting the property owner of its space at 702 E. 11th St. Chron reported the owner padlocked the restaurant’s door around July 1 and posted a sign accusing Los Chilaquiles of not paying rent. Los Chilaquiles founder and owner Tony Sanchez said he’d have the place open after “scheduled maintenance” on July 3. But that date came and went.
Sanchez posted another update July 6, claiming the restaurant was “wrapping up some maintenance work.” When reached by Chron at the time, Sanchez denied his property owner’s claim of unpaid rent, declining to comment further.
On July 10, Sanchez announced on social media that Los Chilaquiles was relocating, saying it will “continue its story” someplace other than its 702 E 11th St. address.
“Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will be relocating our restaurant to a new location,” Los Chilaquiles’ flyer read. “We will be sharing our opening date and all the details very soon.”
Nearly three weeks later, no new address or opening date has yet been revealed. Meanwhile, Sanchez told Chron on Tuesday that he will have “great news from the brand in a couple weeks.”
Sanchez opened the first Los Chilaquiles in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2004, and quietly launched the Heights location in November 2025. The Heights location was the restaurant chain’s first U.S. storefront. The menu, a reflection of Sanchez’s hometown of San Miguel de Culiacán in northwest Mexico, featured chilaquiles, blanquillos, gorditas, sopes and other regional fare.
However, Los Chilaquiles’ first time in the spotlight was less about the food and more about how the business was operating. Weeks after it opened, the restaurant’s employees walked out in protest over alleged unpaid wages and mistreatment. Sanchez said the employees would eventually be paid but defended himself, saying some of the staff did not perform to his expectations.