Downtown San Antonio 'fresh Mex' eatery Luz Roja closes after less than a year in business

Luz Rosa opened this spring in the former downtown location of Blanco Cafe. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Lustrous Public Relations

Restaurant Luz Rosa — which promised to bring upscale “Fresh Mex” to the space that once held downtown’s Blanco Cafe — has folded after just seven months, the San Antonio Business Journal reports.

Developer Devin Elder opened the restaurant in March inside the Travis Building, 405 N. St. Mary’s St. In addition to undertaking major upgrades to the space’s interior, Elder hired respected hospitality veteran Dan Ward, formerly of Piatti, to “create and curate” the eatery.

Elder is the former principal of DJE Texas Management Group, which the Business Journal reports is under FBI investigation for wire fraud and money laundering. Individually, he also faces investor lawsuits in Bexar County District Court, the paper reports.

Luz Roja LLC, the restaurant’s ownership entity, owes roughly $69,000 in unpaid bills from contractor Hermes Group, according to county records cited by the Business Journal.

A former worker at the restaurant told the publication that Elder closed it Oct. 10 with less than a week’s notice to employees.

“I have not seen or heard from Devin since April,” the former staffer said. “They were putting $0 into the restaurant … . We were just getting into our busy season when he decided to pull the plug. Most likely due to the debt to the vendors and the bank that took over the Travis building.”

Boston-based UC Funds assumed control of Travis Building this summer through a foreclosure sale after DJE defaulted on an $18.25 million loan, the Business Journal reports.

Elder, UC Funds and Hermes Group didn’t respond to the Business Journal’s requests for comment.

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Downtown San Antonio ‘fresh Mex’ eatery Luz Roja closes after less than a year in business

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