Valentina's owners stealing tips

[Texzilla588 767]

And still had tax liens. 

Once this is all done chances are Miguel will emerge mostly unscathed and he’ll find investors to fund another go at it. There is something about restaurants that some rich folks look at not as investments but entertainment and status symbols. It’s a way to have something more exclusive than an exclusive club.

Some chefs can do it and run a real business. Others get funding over and over and wreck it. Grady Spears was a master at it. I loved the guy’s food but he was a trainwreck running a business or a functioning restaurant.

[irishtexan 11435]

Something doesn't add up here. Apparently the restaurant was very busy in a space 10x the footprint of their trailer location, but was doing $1.5m less than what they were doing at the trailer? And that doesn't include all the back taxes and liens on the business. He might be skimming off the top.

The tip thing was shitty, but they could have survived that. The texts above don't really bother me because it seems like this employee wasn't doing his job. Stock the fucking pickles man!

Either way, what an epic downfall. This thing was fucked from the get-go. 

 

[Post Oak 20174]

49 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

 

buda's population:  16,000

buda's incentives to valentina's:  $457,000

and buda's CEO says she'd do it again.  that's special.

 

She's not going to say different.  By not admitting a mistake she shifts blame to the Valentinas..

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

50 minutes ago, Texzilla588 said:

There is something about restaurants that some rich folks look at not as investments but entertainment and status symbols. It’s a way to have something more exclusive than an exclusive club.
 

very medici surly 1% vibe.  i dig it.

but a simple pros/cons analysis indicates "sell" on this venture.  too much drama and bad publicity to overcome.  if i wanted to burn $$$ for public embarrassment,   i'd take one of the exes to a bar after the noon booty call.

 

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

13 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

She's not going to say different.  By not admitting a mistake she shifts blame to the Valentinas..

sounds like a typical politician to me.

 

[SuckitKevin 914]

They should bring in Jon Taffer to scream at some people, it would at least be entertaining.

[kevwun 15572]

56 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

Something doesn't add up here. Apparently the restaurant was very busy in a space 10x the footprint of their trailer location, but was doing $1.5m less than what they were doing at the trailer? And that doesn't include all the back taxes and liens on the business. He might be skimming off the top.

The tip thing was shitty, but they could have survived that. The texts above don't really bother me because it seems like this employee wasn't doing his job. Stock the fucking pickles man!

Either way, what an epic downfall. This thing was fucked from the get-go. 

 

I got the feeling those texts were to a group or a few separate individuals.

Edited April 29 by kevwun

[tx 3 putt 75959]

1 hour ago, gsoda3 said:

 

buda's population:  16,000

buda's incentives to valentina's:  $457,000

and buda's CEO says she'd do it again.  that's special.

 

what’s her surly handle ???

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

6 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

what’s her surly handle ???

south austin's mom?

 

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

Allegedly, they haven't paid for their construction in full either.  And still owe lots of money to lots of contractors that worked on that job.  Allegedly.  In my opinion.  

[Macanudo 12917]

8 minutes ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

south austin's mom?

 

Well, both have gotten shafted.

[Deej 76396]

57 minutes ago, SuckitKevin said:

They should bring in Jon Taffer to scream at some people, it would at least be entertaining.

[Deej 76396]

1 hour ago, irishtexan said:

The texts above don't really bother me because it seems like this employee wasn't doing his job.

When your business is in that kind of shambles, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that the employees were probably poorly trained. That falls on the owners. Shaming your employees isn't the way to get the best out of them, either. Oh, and maybe they just don't give a fuck because you were stealing their tips. 

 

[jimmyjazz 45428]

I've only done 2 years in food service, but I don't think it's unusual for the boss to get irate when employees fuck up.

That doesn't mean he himself didn't fuck up, and massively so if stories are true.

[Deej 76396]

With everything else being so disorganized and fucked up, I'm just saying the employee training wasn't all that great. That falls on the owners. They obviously didn't know what they were doing so how could they pass it on to their employees?

[deft 6768]

Not defending him but that many texts about pickles doesn’t sound like poor training on pickles. It sounds like employees who can’t remember to stock pickles.

[royiv 9124]

There’s no reason to ever speak to one of your employees like that. That’s terrible management and leadership.

[WBT 20376]

4 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

 

buda's population:  16,000

buda's incentives to valentina's:  $457,000

and buda's CEO says she'd do it again.  that's special.

 

That's like one 5-gallon bucket of pickles per every 3 residents.  A bargain!

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

4 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

 

buda's population:  16,000

buda's incentives to valentina's:  $457,000

and buda's CEO says she'd do it again.  that's special.

 

seems like she will do it again for another project.

 

http://archive.today/2024.01.17-201239/https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2024/01/17/buda-tap-in-incentives-mini-golf-entertainment.html

 

[gsoda3 3214]

14 minutes ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

seems like she will do it again for another project.

 

http://archive.today/2024.01.17-201239/https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2024/01/17/buda-tap-in-incentives-mini-golf-entertainment.html

 

$400,000 - $150k up front for capital improvements plus five-year incentive of up to $250,000 of 100% of sales tax revenues.  15 full time employees.  buda's betting on them generating > $12mm in 5 years just to break even. 

[NoName 16265]

22 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

no way they were doing 4.5mil / year in bbq

no fucking way 

i think their business is drastically different than most other bbq food trucks/joints just bc they did a really nice amount of money with their breakfast food trucks.

i think they were open 7 days a week at 8a at the food truck.

i'd love to see their actual financials, because if they were making 86k / week and 4.5m a year on property they owned they were idiots to close the food truck and move to Buda. should have at least kept it open with scaled back hours and used the Buda location as your commissary kitchen.

[NoName 16265]

15 hours ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

shots fired.

 

 

from comments, seems like there is a lot more going on there - with both the OP and Miguel.

evidently these texts are from 9 years ago and the guy left Austin about 2017? what a weirdo. they had this this whole burner account to basically shit on the Vidals for something that happened ~9 years ago? very, very strange.

https://old.reddit.com/r/austinfood/comments/1cfkoz0/valentinas_reciepts/

 

+

+

+

more from his account:

evidently the person worked for la Barbecue too?

 

[dcbc 14367]

36 minutes ago, NoName said:

evidently these texts are from 9 years ago and the guy left Austin about 2017? what a weirdo. they had this this whole burner account to basically shit on the Vidals for something that happened ~9 years ago? very, very strange.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

[texasdago 7544]

1 hour ago, royiv said:

There’s no reason to ever speak to one of your employees like that. That’s terrible management and leadership.

I can't say I really want some food service but have had friends to work so I can accepts and spent a lot of time in kitchen.  Don't think that talk is that uncommon in the kitchen. 

[Al Czervik 1228]

13 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Does it come with a side of pickles? 

[tx 3 putt 75959]

2 minutes ago, Al Czervik said:

Does it come with a side of pickles? 

not at valentina’s 

 

So this was the trailer days and the owner couldn’t stay on top of pickles and chips ?  Wasn't all that feet away from him ???

[texasdago 7544]

https://gardenandgun.com/articles/texas-barbecue-love-story/

“I don’t need Valentina’s to be some huge, crazy operation,” Miguel says. What they both wanted when they started out in 2013 was to create a relaxed, comfortable place that feels like the backyard gatherings

[ztejas 43190]

17 hours ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

shots fired.

 

 

Are these texts supposed to be bad or something? It's food service. If you're fucking up simple shit - like running out of pickles at a BBQ restaraunt - then you're going to be asked to not do that. If you don't like your boss then go work somewhere else. 

16 hours ago, Your Mom said:

I don’t think that’s an unbelievable number for a restaurant at all, even a trailer. Your average Chick-fil-A brings in that much revenue, and a busy Chick-fil-A  brings in twice as much.  They’re running more people through, but those people aren’t spending 25 bucks a person.  Plus the catering, plus the location at the Austin FC stadium, which I never went to because the line was longer than the line to get into the stadium.

What's more hysterical than comparing a BBQ trailer to a chik fil a is that two people repped this. 

[Your Mom 4774]

26 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Are these texts supposed to be bad or something? It's food service. If you're fucking up simple shit - like running out of pickles at a BBQ restaraunt - then you're going to be asked to not do that. If you don't like your boss then go work somewhere else. 

What's more hysterical than comparing a BBQ trailer to a chik fil a is that two people repped this. 

Fair enough. Not a very relevant comparison.  Just saying that $4.5 million is not an unbelievable number. I’ve eaten at their trailer 20 or 30 times at the most random parts of the day, when restaurants shouldn’t be crowded, there was always a line. If they’re ringing up a new order, say every three minutes or so all day from the time they open to the time they run out in the evening, and each order ranges from $20 to $80, it adds up to a shit load of money.

 

  

[Pam Cummings 9530]

1 hour ago, texasdago said:

I can't say I really want some food service but have had friends to work so I can accepts and spent a lot of time in kitchen.  Don't think that talk is that uncommon in the kitchen. 

That first sentence is a real beaut.

[Paco 1908]

I can't say I really want some food service but have had friends to work so I can accepts and spent a lot of time in kitchen.  Don't think that talk is that uncommon in the kitchen. 

Are you having a stroke?

[Post Oak 20174]

1 hour ago, texasdago said:

I can't say I really want some food service but have had friends to work so I can accepts and spent a lot of time in kitchen.  Don't think that talk is that uncommon in the kitchen. 

 

[texasdago 7544]

47 minutes ago, Paco said:

2 hours ago, texasdago said:

I can't say I really want some food service but have had friends to work so I can accepts and spent a lot of time in kitchen.  Don't think that talk is that uncommon in the kitchen. 

Are you having a stroke?

Hello and welcome to Google talk to text

[jimmyjazz 45428]

I have to laugh at the slogan on Valentina's uncashed paychecks due to zero funds (courtesy KXAN):

Edited April 29 by jimmyjazz

[TwiceHorn 31085]

On 4/28/2024 at 12:46 AM, tx 3 putt said:

surly ties ????

There is this.  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/-nothing-wrong-family-texas-entrepreneur-fatally-shot-police-say-was-d-rcna59884

[gofuckyourself 8099]

Coming to Buda May 8th

Valentina's 2: Pickle Boogaloo

[Anastasis 23329]

Pickles are serious business. 

[Al Czervik 1228]

3 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Fair enough. Not a very relevant comparison.  Just saying that $4.5 million is not an unbelievable number. I’ve eaten at their trailer 20 or 30 times at the most random parts of the day, when restaurants shouldn’t be crowded, there was always a line. If they’re ringing up a new order, say every three minutes or so all day from the time they open to the time they run out in the evening, and each order ranges from $20 to $80, it adds up to a shit load of money.

 

  

Every 3 minutes? Been there plenty to know that you spend way more time waiting in line than you do eating at Valentina’s. Everything took too long at the trailer.  Just my observation. 

In think they were counting tip money as income when they were courting investors.  
 

and pickle talk not going away. 

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

has @Steel Shank given his input about pickle talk not going away?

 

[Steel Shank 9383]

Don't get me started on pickles or pickle ball.

[HenryJames 65848]

I pickle balled your mom last night.

[52-80 19047]

if you cant take the pickle, get out of the kitchen

[Masshole Horn 760]

Under investigation by US Dept of Labor. Is that bad? That seems bad.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/valentinas-tex-mex-bbq-under-investigation-by-us-department-of-labor/?lv=true

 

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

12 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

Under investigation by US Dept of Labor. Is that bad? That seems bad.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/valentinas-tex-mex-bbq-under-investigation-by-us-department-of-labor/?lv=true

 

Is that bad?  Not really.  Aren't we all?

Let he who is not under investigation by the US Dept of Labor cast the first stone.

[CooterBrown 17852]

23 hours ago, irishtexan said:

Something doesn't add up here. Apparently the restaurant was very busy in a space 10x the footprint of their trailer location, but was doing $1.5m less than what they were doing at the trailer?

I wonder how busy they actually were during weekday lunch hours.  No one works in Buda so the pool of customers has to be relatively small even compared to south Austin.  If you're a tourist in Austin looking for lunchtime BBQ, you ain't driving to Buda for BBQ. If you're a business looking to cater a work lunch, you ain't driving to Buda to pick it up.

 

[CooterBrown 17852]

3 minutes ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

Is that bad?  Not really.  Aren't we all?

Let he who is not under investigation by the US Dept of Labor cast the first stone.

Who goes weeks without getting paid and keeps working? If you miss one paycheck, I'm not coming in ever again.

Sounds like Miguel is either going to prison or an early grave to escape it.

 

[gofuckyourself 8099]

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

I wonder how busy they actually were during weekday lunch hours.  No one works in Buda so the pool of customers has to be relatively small even compared to south Austin.  If you're a tourist in Austin looking for lunchtime BBQ, you ain't driving to Buda for BBQ. If you're a business looking to cater a work lunch, you ain't driving to Buda to pick it up.

 

Can't sell what you don't have.

One of the many problems was they didn't order/prepare enough food, particularly considering their sales expectations.

We live nearby and you'd show up at 2 pm on a weekend and everything was sold out, yet they're open until 10. No food and no sales yet (not) paying 8 staff to stand around.

[deft 6768]

Selling pickles and the too loud music experience

[jimmyjazz 45428]

8 minutes ago, gofuckyourself said:

We live nearby and you'd show up at 2 pm on a weekend and everything was sold out, yet they're open until 10. No food and no sales yet (not) paying 8 staff to stand around.

Well, that's just stupid.  What a businessman.

[Jerry Callo 8647]

5 minutes ago, gofuckyourself said:

Can't sell what you don't have.

One of the many problems was they didn't order/prepare enough food, particularly considering their sales expectations.

We live nearby and you'd show up at 2 pm on a weekend and everything was sold out, yet they're open until 10. No food and no sales yet (not) paying 8 staff to stand around.

A buddy and I stopped there the day after Thanksgiving on the way back from fishing on the Guad.  Got there about 11:30 and they were "sold out" of everything except for pork ribs and fajita tacos.  They're stated reason was because a huge to-go order was filled at 11:00.  

I suspect they just didn't have any barbecue because there was no smoking done the day before.  I watched them dump restaurant bins full of already cooked and sliced fajitas on the flat tops.  In that case, they shouldn't have been open the day after T-giving or not open until dinner service and given themselves enough time to smoke some barbecue.