Facebook post<\/a>, owner Manuel Lopez said he learned in June that the restaurant would not be offered a new lease.<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
According to Lopez, representatives from the property visited on May 1, as they did each month, to collect rent and deferred tax payments from the previous year. He explained that he signed paperwork related to the outstanding tax balance but did not realize the document also stated that the lease would not be renewed.<\/p>\n
“I never actually read that document \u2014 that was my mistake \u2014 and I didn’t realize what it said until June 15, when they verbally told me they would no longer be renting the space to me,” Lopez wrote.<\/p>\n
Lopez said he attempted to negotiate but was told another tenant would occupy the space.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
“I tried to reach an agreement, but they told me someone else was going to rent it and that they were going in a different direction,” he wrote.<\/p>\n
Despite the closure, Lopez said the restaurant’s story is not over.<\/p>\n
“We will be in this location up until September 30! And yes, we will be back!” he wrote.<\/p>\n
The end of a 29-year lease<\/p>\n
On a recent afternoon, Taqueria Chapala was still doing what it has done for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n
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The lunch rush filled the dining room as customers filtered in. Employees greeted guests with smiles and took orders in Spanish. Families filled the booths while reruns of the courtroom\u00a0telenovela “Caso Cerrado” played on the television. Security bars framed the front windows, a familiar sight at many longtime East Austin businesses.<\/p>\n
Though the neighborhood around it has changed dramatically, the restaurant has remained largely the same. It sits next to the shuttered Upscale Mart, now surrounded by fencing, while the nearby South American boutique\u00a0Corocoro is listed as temporarily closed.<\/p>\n
One employee behind the counter, who said she has worked at Taqueria Chapala for 16 years, said the staff was now focused on finding a new location before the restaurant closes at the end of September.<\/p>\n
“September is very soon,” she said in Spanish.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
![\"A]()
<\/p>\n
A mural of Tejano singer Selena decorates the restaurant’s storefront on East Cesar Chavez.<\/p>\n
Ana Gutierrez \/ Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
A mural of\u00a0Tejano icon Selena has watched over diners for years. Wearing a Texas-shaped earring, the singer’s portrait was updated during the COVID-19 pandemic with a face mask bearing the words, “Homie: Stay Home!” \u2014 a marker of the restaurant\u2019s ability to weather yet another chapter in the neighborhood’s history.<\/p>\n
The announcement prompted an outpouring of support from longtime patrons, many of whom shared memories of decades of family meals at the restaurant.<\/p>\n
“My family & I have been guests for decades,” Erica\u00a0Aguilar commented on the post. “Please let us know if you open another location. Many blessings on this new chapter.”<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Flip\u00a0Garza recalled walking to the restaurant with his sons when they were young and recently returning with the next generation of his family.<\/p>\n
“Your prices are so affordable and when you’re raising 2 boys that means a lot,”\u00a0Garza wrote. “I hope you find a new location.”<\/p>\n
The closure affects only the East Cesar\u00a0Chavez location. Taqueria Chapala will continue operating its restaurants at 717 E. Ben White Blvd. and 6116 W. U.S. 290 Service Road while Lopez searches for a new home for the original East Austin restaurant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taqueria Chapala will close its East Cesar Chavez location on Sept. 30.\u00a0 Ana Gutierrez \/ Austin American-Statesman A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,19240,1223,39308,1623,354,27],"class_list":["post-358987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-austin-restaurants","tag-austin-texas","tag-casual-dining","tag-restaurant-news","tag-restaurants","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}