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ftf82

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Posts posted by ftf82

  1. Any ID on this bird at my feeder? Sorry not aimage.thumb.jpeg.2087e0100415ae2e4a2c2f01196aeace.jpeg great pic. Nothing like I've seen here before. Cheap free app says Summer Tanager.

  2. 4 hours ago, Brisketexan said:


    Krispy Krunchy is secretly some of the best fried yard bird around.

    I'm intrigued. There's (apparently) one in a Valero c-store right by the entrance to Horseshoe Bay. Are they all the same quality. or are some better than others?

    BBQ

    ABJ Article on Valentina's meltdown.

     

    Spoiler

    Last June, a crowd of barbecue fans, local dignitaries and more flocked to the Buda Mill & Grain Co. south of Austin to celebrate Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ and its husband-wife owners, Miguel and Modesty Vidal, with a ribbon-cutting of their new 6,000-square-foot restaurant.

    The moment marked the culmination of the restaurant's meteoric rise from a niche South Austin food trailer to a spot on the Texas Monthly's venerable "50 Best BBQ Joints List," and then to the highly anticipated opening of the Vidals' first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Buda.

    But less than a year later, that ascent came to an abrupt halt. The Vidals on April 25 announced the restaurant's imminent closure, which they said will be temporary. The Austin Business Journal later confirmed the business is headed for new ownership, and further digging uncovers an unusual mountain of debt for a restaurant known to have lines out the door.

    The Vidals said in the April 25 social media post that the company would be under new management and that the restaurant would be closed during the transition. But the Vidals did not disclose why new management was needed. An ABJ investigation based on interviews and an analysis of public records has identified a pattern of fiscal and business mismanagement by the Vidals.

    Some of that was known: the Vidals have faced public allegations of tip stealing by employees, some of whom have posted on social media of poor management and issued getting paid. Meanwhile, customers and employees have flooded social media with accusations of bad service.

    But what the ABJ through its reporting can reveal is the Vidals are under investigation by the Department of Labor for their business practices, and they owe millions of dollars to a number of stakeholders — the company's primary lender, employees, their landlord, the state of Texas, contractors, minority owners and, potentially soon, the city of Buda — as they struggled to keep their business afloat.

    That debt is roughly $2.3 million and could potentially be higher, according to a source with direct knowledge of the company's financial issues.

    Many questions remain of how the business got to this place. The Vidals have not responded to several requests for comment. But they did acknowledge issues in a the April 25 social media post, which said the restaurant will be closed until May 8.

    "We’ve been at this for a long time, and we work really hard, but this last year has been harder than ever," the Vidals said in the post. "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. We can no longer continue to give our loyal customers sub par customer service and food."

    The debt includes more than $1.5 million to Austin-based financial technology company InKind, which is the most senior secured creditor of the business, said InKind CEO Johann Moonesinghe. The company is working on essentially taking over the business as an assignment for the benefit of the creditors.

    The restaurant finance company is among the largest in the country and has funded over 600 restaurants this year. It has invested in Austin staples including Rosen's Bagel Co., Sushi by Scratch, Two Hands Hospitality and Paperboy. It also owns and operates restaurants such as Ember Kitchen and The Guest House in Austin.

    Moonesinghe said InKind underwrites every business differently but admitted the business gave Valentina's more than usual because it believed in the business. The investment included buying credit in the business but also lending money directly. Valentina's has missed deadlines to pay that back.

    Moonesinghe shed a little light on why money has not been paid back. He said Valentina's was doing $4.5 million in annual revenue out of its food truck, and expectations were that revenue would reach $10 million with the new location. But the past couple of months, Moonesinghe said, Valentina's was on track to have $3 million in revenue this year.

    Moonesinghe said Valentina's aims to get a proper business management team in place so that employees can keep their jobs and "the community can continue to eat the best barbecue in the country." In the meantime, Valentina's has been locked out of the restaurant for breaching its lease and not paying rent, and employee paychecks have bounced, Moonesinghe said.

    He said that while InKind isn't necessarily liable to make any payments, it's working with the Vidals to make sure that everyone gets paid.

    "Miguel is an incredibly talented chef and most people who’ve been to Valentina’s including Aaron Franklin say it’s their favorite barbecue," he said in a written statement. "Ultimately though, producing mouthwatering food is not enough when running a restaurant."

    Valentina's reveal that it was moving to Buda in 2021 was met with fanfare from foodies. But it also attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city of Buda and the Buda Economic Development Corp. to help bring a popular restaurant to the city as it aimed to support small businesses along its bustling Main Street.

    At least initially, city officials approved about $457,000 in performance-based incentives from both the city and its EDC to aid with the project at the redeveloped Buda Mill & Grain Co. site at 308 South Main St. Of that amount, half was to be paid to developers to offset remodeling costs and the other to Valentina's to offset equipment costs at the restaurant, according to the agreements.

    The business was said to generate a number of benefits that were required as part of the agreement. The capital investment in the project is said by some to have eclipsed $2 million, and the business signed a 10-year-lease. They were expected to have at least 105 full-time employees, which would make Valentina's a major private-sector employer in Buda.

    As anticipation grew for the project, the first signs that something may have been amiss came last year. Valentina's finally set an opening date for June after a number of delays, but that only came after Buda voted to provide a $285,000 loan to help the company with finances prior to the opening.

    Only a portion of the performance-based incentive has been paid out to Valentina's as of April 26, said Buda EDC CEO Jennifer Storm, who was chair of the EDC board when the first agreements were approved. That includes only a portion of the first agreement with Valentina's, and none to the developer, as they work to verify whether they hit the performance-based goals in the agreement.

    While the loan was paid out, the agreement did include a provision that it must be paid back if the owners sell the business, Storm said. She was unsure of the timeframe on when that payment would need to be made, but it could be triggered by the imminent change in ownership.

    Storm called the situation "heartbreaking," acknowledging it feels personal because the city and EDC were essentially investors in the project and purchased the kitchen equipment. But she expressed confidence the business, whomever owns it, can get back on track.

     

    "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.

    Storm added that she would do the deal again and will continue to support the city's efforts to help small businesses. City leadership in Buda, with a population of 16,000, has made that a priority based on the requests of locals who don't want to lose the small-town charm.

    "These are not easy projects," Storm said. "These are people who have dreams. We are trying to support those dreams and sometimes there are challenges that can't be overcome. But it's still the right thing to support small businesses."

    That was the same sentiment echoed by Dodi Ellis, whose family has owned by the 8-acre Buda Mill & Grain Co. site as far back as 1911.

    While she said she could not comment on any specifics, she added: "It's an incredibly sad moment that we find ourselves in. We had really been rooting for their success."

    Valentina's first came under fire publicly last year when anonymous accusations emerged on Reddit accusing the owners of stealing tips, with screenshots of a tip policy that showed employees would not receive tips based on a number of reasons. The post said showing up to work 5-to-10 minutes early is on time.

    The Vidals responded to the post on Facebook and shared an updated tip policy. "We can only continue to learn, adapt, and try do better as we grow," the post stated last July.

    The social media posts garnered comments that described poor management, harsh working conditions and subpar customer experiences. But it also drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Labor, which confirmed to the ABJ on April 26 it was investigating the company, although officials would not confirm for what.

    "Because all complaints are anonymous to protect those who file complaints, we do not disclose how an investigation was initiated. However, we can confirm our Wage and Hour Division has an open and ongoing investigation into this employer. At this time that is all we can say on the case," said Juan Rodríguez, deputy regional director at the office of public affairs of the U.S. Department of Labor,in a statement.

    If the investigation is indeed for potential tip stealing, at the crux of the issue is that employers, including managers and supervisors, may not keep tips, according to the Department of Labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employees from keeping any portion of tips for any reason, "whether directly or through or a tip pool," and employers may not require employees to give their tips to an employer, supervisor or manager.

    While the paper trail of owed money appears to stretch from the company's lender to its landlord to the city and to employees, it appears to stretch to its contractors and the state of Texas, as well.

    Valentina's has a history of liens that date back over the last decade in both Travis and Hays counties for unpaid taxes, according to publicly available documents analyzed by the ABJ.

    That includes roughly $44,000 in outstanding liens filed by the state of Texas against the company in Hays County and roughly $3,100 in Travis County, documents show. It does not include what appears to be tens of thousands of dollars in additional liens that have been released.

    That amount also does not include additional liens for contractors. Some have been satisfied, but Valentina's has an outstanding lien of roughly $22,450 filed in October against the company by Austin-based commercial painting company Star Finishes Enterprises Inc., which wrote that it provided work at the site, including tape, float, primer and plaint, according to the documents.

    A representative for Star Finishes Enterprises confirmed to the ABJ on April 26 the lien had not yet been paid.

    But the biggest unpaid debt goes to InKind.

    Moonesinghe, InKind's CEO, said that, since they are not owners and operators, they were not aware of "the significant issues with payroll that have been going on." He said they were informed two weeks prior by the Vidals that they would be closing because it was not financially viable for them to operate the business.

    With all the issues, many with knowledge of the potential deal called it "complicated." But Moonesinghe expressed confidence they can hit the May 8 re-opening date.

    The Vidals promised in the Facebook post they would be around smoking brisket in the silo or making new drinks for the menu. Moonesinghe said they will continue to be involved in the business as employees but won't have access to the finances.

    Miguel's food is "amazing," he said, and they want to let him shine, while Modesty is heavily invested in the catering side. They also have plans to expand out a dinner menu.

    "Personally, my husband had planned on catering our 10 year anniversary in May with Valentina’s homemade tortillas, moist brisket and queso so we do want to get it back open as soon as possible," Moonesinghe said.

    Jason Steward, who owned the former Bungalow bar on Rainey Street and now owns local lounges Kitty Cohen's and Golden Goose, is listed as an agent on the Valentina's LLC, signifying he has a stake in the company. He declined to comment when reached by the ABJ.

     

     

  3. On 4/24/2024 at 10:28 AM, irishtexan said:

     

    We tried Cruzteca out in Sunset Valley about a month ago and I was pleasantly surprised. Cheese enchiladas were good. Drinks were good. I'll go back.

    Wife, son and I went there tonight for the first time. Definitely adding to the rotation. Wife is a ceviche snob (her grandmother was from Tampico) and really liked it. Drinks were also top shelf. I had the carnitas tacos this time. Looking for forward to trying the guisada and pibil on future visits. Cool place. 

  4. 7 hours ago, JCHIL said:

    Yeah...I think TSV has a public use agreement with Carson National Forest that sets a limit on the amount of user days in a ski season so since Taos chooses to open on Thanksgiving weekend every year, the days run out by first week in April every year.  I have seen them extend the season on some years by a week when the snow is good and this year it would seem like they would,,,,,

    Can they staff it if they stay open? My understanding is that Angel Fire hires quite a few contract seasonal workers from South America with hard end dates, so it's not feasible for them to stay open after the contracts run.

    Looks like from their webpage AF is already closed. Their webcams show they still have a shitload of snow. 

    https://www.angelfireresort.com/weather/

  5. Latest info is that Vail may stay open until April 20 or so. I was just there two weeks ago but am thinking about going back 4/11-4/15. Anyone have any experience skiing there that late in the season? Went to Park City 10 years ago in April after a big dump and it was fine (not great). Only other time was A-Basin one time in mid May, which was awesome not for the skiing but for the CU coeds in bikinis. [Golf in the morning and skiing in the afternoon was hard to beat]

  6. 55 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

    I feel like if you’re going to the Bullock it’s a lot easier to go east-west than head downtown (plus trying to park).  I’d go to someplace like Salty Sow on Manor or stalk @HenryJames at Sour Duck.  Maybe Dai Due.  
     

    Hotel Ella is also close for something fancier.  

    100% this.  Whenever we have anything in that area (e.g., Friends of LBJ Library event) we either go East Austin or Hopfields.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  7. Just finished my week at Vail. Last run was Riva Ridge, top to bottom (including Tourist Trap). Fresh 8" and still coming down. Need 70 close so I can stay another day!

    • Like 1
  8. 8 hours ago, Gucci_Suit said:My question is, where does one destroy a basket of fried fish with hush puppies?

    Green Mesquite patio

    • Hook 'Em 1
  9. Austin Biz Journal article today that Waterloo Records is expected to lose their location at the end of their current lease term (per the article, 3 years appx from now). Endeavor is planning on re-developing that site (although article mentions that they might be able to lease space in the new project, that never happens in my experience). When I first moved to town they were  just across Town Lake on South Lamar.  @YGIFS you know anything about this travesty?

  10. Going to Vail end of this month for 6 days and looking to book one more trip before the season is over. Never skied Jackson Hole. Website shows they've had almost 300" of snow this season and don't close until mid-April. Thoughts on going there end of March or first week of April? 

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