Valentina’s Changes Hands

Emerging BBQ joint Valentina’s will be closing temporarily as new ownership takes over, according to recent reporting in ABJ . Founded by locals Miguel and Modesty Vidal, the restaurant will now be taken over by InKind, its primary lender.

The mounting debt behind the restaurant’s closure includes more than $1.5 million to InKind, an Austin-based financial technology company; now the company is working on “essentially taking over the business as an assignment for the benefit of the creditors.”

“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 a recent Facebook 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.”

While the Vidals will still be around “smoking brisket in the silo or making new drinks for the menu”, InKind CEO Johann 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.

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