RIP La Mexicana Bakery on South 1st

[Hornius Emeritus 12495]

Closing after 33 years.  Many's the time I hit them up when I had the late night muchies.

https://www.austin360.com/story/entertainment/dining/restaurant-reviews/2022/01/24/south-austin-staple-mexican-bakery-and-taqueria-la-mexicana-closing/6637328001/

[irishtexan 11530]

That's a bummer, but not surprising considering the change in neighborhood demographic over the last 10-15 years.

[Foggy Notion 1202]

I worked just down the street for almost 20 years. Best tres leches cake in town. Will have to stop by over the next couple weeks. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

Never been to this place, but it got me thinking about La Reyna Bakery at 1816 S 1st (pretty sure that was the address). I used to stop by there in the 80s. Yelp now says Mumtaz Market by G’Raj Mahal is at that address. Does anyone know when La Reyna closed?

[Mo Horn 8875]

One of the best conchas I've had, outside of Mexico. 

[conVINCEd 21474]

If it’s the place I’m thinking of they made some bitching migas at 2:30 a.m. RIP.

[immamac 43373]

Why doesn't someone just buy it

[DalTxHornFan 3121]

15 minutes ago, immamac said:

Why doesn't someone just buy it

Not easy to pay the property taxes on the site of the next big commercial/MF/high-rise development on South First by selling this stuff.  RIP local stuff in Austin.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by DalTxHornFan

[ztejas 43604]

It said the long time owner is retiring and not being pushed out of his spot.

If anyone felt like reading the article. 

[SimonBolivar 10961]

8 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Not easy to pay the property taxes on the site of the next big commercial/MF/high-rise development on South First by selling this stuff.  RIP local stuff in Austin.

 

 

Another victory for marranitos in the long-standing marranitos vs puerquitos war.

Edited January 26, 2022 by SimonBolivar

[CooterBrown 18038]

Never been to this place, but it got me thinking about La Reyna Bakery at 1816 S 1st (pretty sure that was the address). I used to stop by there in the 80s. Yelp now says Mumtaz Market by G’Raj Mahal is at that address. Does anyone know when La Reyna closed?

I don’t remember La Reyna having a bakery but maybe it did. It closed at least a decade ago. One of the very few austin joints with homemade tortillas and for breakfast they served a warmed salsa on the side. It was probably my favorite Tex Mex south of the river at the time.

[TonyTexas 10537]

10 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Never been to this place, but it got me thinking about La Reyna Bakery at 1816 S 1st (pretty sure that was the address). I used to stop by there in the 80s. Yelp now says Mumtaz Market by G’Raj Mahal is at that address. Does anyone know when La Reyna closed?

 

7 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

I don’t remember La Reyna having a bakery but maybe it did. It closed at least a decade ago. One of the very few austin joints with homemade tortillas and for breakfast they served a warmed salsa on the side. It was probably my favorite Tex Mex south of the river at the time.

Quote

Before La Mexicana, the South First address had been home to the bakery component of Tex-Mex restaurant La Reyna (which closed completely in 2012). After working in H-E-B’s bakery department, Becerra took over the bakery in 1989, and renamed it La Mexicana. Anthony Bourdain visited the business for a No Reservations episode in 2012.

 

[HenryJames 66228]

5 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

I don’t remember La Reyna having a bakery but maybe it did. It closed at least a decade ago. One of the very few austin joints with homemade tortillas and for breakfast they served a warmed salsa on the side. It was probably my favorite Tex Mex south of the river at the time.

When I first came to UT, my Hispanic friends from high school who were already on campus took me to La Reyna.

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

6 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

I don’t remember La Reyna having a bakery but maybe it did. It closed at least a decade ago. One of the very few austin joints with homemade tortillas and for breakfast they served a warmed salsa on the side. It was probably my favorite Tex Mex south of the river at the time.

That’s funny because the bakery is all I ever patronized. I honestly don’t remember a restaurant. I did buy tortillas from La Reyna and a place on Oltorf(?) called Dos Hermanos Tortilleria.

This was all 35-40 years ago. You know what they say…time flies when places close down and die.

[Wiler77 1579]

Damn, La Mexicana had some absolutely killer flour tortillas.  Used to go by there all the time when I lived closer to town.

[texasdago 7589]

Tons of people were bitching about gentrification and F new Austin killing this business, etc. without bothering to read the owner's family's comments that, its been 33 years... they're kind of done.  

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

1 hour ago, texasdago said:

Tons of people were bitching about gentrification and F new Austin killing this business, etc. without bothering to read the owner's family's comments that, its been 33 years... they're kind of done.  

I get it, but it’s getting harder and harder for small mom & pop businesses to survive, and the property values make it financially foolish to keep things as they are. Even if their kids or someone else wants to take it over, the property owners can’t say no to a sale. Lots of this is natural and inevitable, but all the growth and new money accelerates the process.  It is what it is, but it’s still sad. 

[DalTxHornFan 3121]

1 hour ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

I get it, but it’s getting harder and harder for small mom & pop businesses to survive, and the property values make it financially foolish to keep things as they are. Even if their kids or someone else wants to take it over, the property owners can’t say no to a sale. Lots of this is natural and inevitable, but all the growth and new money accelerates the process.  It is what it is, but it’s still sad. 

It's called economics and "highest and best use."  Exhibit A is the Amaya's Taco Village deal.  They are gonna build a tall building there and Amaya's plans to use the ground retail space for their restaurant operations.  That dirt on South First is way too valuable to justify the current situation.  No doubt that the proprietor's retirement will be greatly enhanced by the proceeds from the property sale.

[DalTxHornFan 3121]

1 hour ago, DalTxHornFan said:

It's called economics and "highest and best use."  Exhibit A is the Amaya's Taco Village deal.  They are gonna build a tall building there and Amaya's plans to use the ground retail space for their restaurant operations.  That dirt on South First is way too valuable to justify the current situation.  No doubt that the proprietor's retirement will be greatly enhanced by the proceeds from the property sale.

Just checked out this property on the Travis Central Appraisal District website, looks like it is two different tracts.  They have been very fortunate to keep the valuation down over the last 5 years.  That said, stroking a check for around $35k each year for the privilege of baking and selling your baked goods at a property that you supposedly own is, to paraphrase Peggy Hill, no bueno at all. 

https://stage.travis.prodigycad.com/property-detail/302951/2021

https://stage.travis.prodigycad.com/property-detail/302952/2021

And thankfully, it would seem that Mr. Becerra, et al. owns the property, so good for him and his family.  The same deal happened for Matt Martinez and his family, of Matt's El Rancho fame.  They were able to turn the current Four Seasons site into the current South Lamar location and a lakeside recreational property in a tax-free exchange.

Similar good fortune for Moses Vasquez's family and their tamale shop at 100 Congress back in the 1980s.

Edited January 27, 2022 by DalTxHornFan

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

1 hour ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Similar good fortune for Moses Vasquez's family and their tamale shop at 100 Congress back in the 1980s.

That seemed like such an insane amount of money at the time. Lol

[ztejas 43604]

5 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

I get it, but it’s getting harder and harder for small mom & pop businesses to survive, and the property values make it financially foolish to keep things as they are. Even if their kids or someone else wants to take it over, the property owners can’t say no to a sale. Lots of this is natural and inevitable, but all the growth and new money accelerates the process.  It is what it is, but it’s still sad. 

"I get what the owner said but actually it was bad white man gentrification"

I'd assume he's making a killing on the property sale. I don't understand why we need to politicize everything under the sun. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

I hope you didn’t think that’s what I was saying. 

[ztejas 43604]

8 minutes ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

I hope you didn’t think that’s what I was saying. 

Yeah, I apologize. I'm a small white man that's trying to become a bigger person day by day. Didn't mean to mischaracterize you and on further review I get what you were saying. At the end of the day I'm an ardent believer in free market capitalism and due to the current political environment I bristle too quickly. 

Austin is a different place than it used to be. I try and take it in stride - because there are pros and cons - I just don't like when common sense is attributed to misanthropic external pressures. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

32 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Yeah, I apologize. I'm a small white man that's trying to become a bigger person day by day. Didn't mean to mischaracterize you and on further review I get what you were saying. At the end of the day I'm an ardent believer in free market capitalism and due to the current political environment I bristle too quickly. 

Austin is a different place than it used to be. I try and take it in stride - because there are pros and cons - I just don't like when common sense is attributed to misanthropic external pressures. 

I moved from Austin almost 21 years ago. It still bothers me to hear about places having to close, even if it’s a financial windfall for the owners. Or to go back and find old haunts closed. I realize it’s selfish.

I have a friend whose daughter moved to Austin in the past year. He was showing me some pics she sent, one of which was her by the SRV statue. I told him to tell her I remember when he wasn’t a statue.

On one of our more recents trips back, we rented a Vrbo house, and the owner (a recent Austinite) had to tell us that the house had that “old Austin vibe.” Yeah, right. My dad was flippin’ houses in that neighborhood decades before flippin’ was even a term.

Austin obviously has a lot going for it, and I understand why most newcomers don’t get where some of us are coming from or what was so great about Austin Aqua Festival, Jamie’s Spanish Village, Huts, or Magnolia Cafe. But I loved Austin so much back in the 70s and 80s that I can’t help but yell at the clouds sometimes.

Edited January 27, 2022 by ImissWallyPryor
whose, not who’s

[texasdago 7589]

I get it.  I thought it really sucked when it was announced that Dry Creek was closing.   I ended up going there the month it closed to relive old times.  Now, the emotional part of me bemoaned its loss but the logical part of me couldn't figure out how it stayed open in that location, in that condition for all those years.  

 

Maybe something cool will go where that bakery is... but this does give people an opportunity to find some other great places in south Austin.  They're there.  They might be different but they're not all gone.  

[Deej 77003]

I was just finally getting over La Reyna closing, and now this happens?