Valentina's owners stealing tips

[Tailgate 3021]

Went to new location in Buda. Wait another few months before you go. Got our order wrong twice and the line wraps right behind the bar stools…so sitting at the bar is like breaking through a defensive line just to sit and again when you get up or move. Some serious tweaks needed.

[royiv 9246]

1 minute ago, Tailgate said:

Went to new location in Buda. Wait another few months before you go. Got our order wrong twice and the line wraps right behind the bar stools…so sitting at the bar is like breaking through a defensive line just to sit and again when you get up or move. Some serious tweaks needed.

Did you leave a tip?

[Tailgate 3021]

11 minutes ago, royiv said:

Did you leave a tip?

Yes…actually that was the best part. Two good bartenders rolled with the punches and delivered great service.

[4th and 5 4914]

They weren’t even that busy and we waited 30 minutes to order and 30 more minutes to deliver a fucked up order

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

welp.

 

[HenryJames 66035]

Is that a lot?

[Post Oak 20205]

These people seem like they suck.  

ABJ article

Spoiler

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Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ owners owe $2.3M, according to ABJ investigation
It's an all-hands-on-deck moment to s
By Justin Sayers and Sahar Chmais – Austin Business Journal

Apr 27, 2024

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.

Buda Mill & Grain Co.
308 S Main St, Buda, TX 78610
 
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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."
Valentina's Tex Mex BBQexpand
Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ owners Miguel and Modesty Vidal in a photo shared last June.
BUDA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Primary lender is taking over
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."
Valentinas Grand Opening Day 1 6 21 2023expand
A crowd gathered at Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ's Buda brick-and-mortar on opening day.
N/A
Warning signs missed
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.
Buda 7524expand
A peek at the Buda Mill & Grain Co. business complex that's designed to invigorate Buda's main strip.
ARNOLD WELLS
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."
Buda 7545expand
Saenger Ellis and his mom Dodi Ellis have worked diligently for more than five years to create a unique retail and restaurant project at the former gin mill in downtown Buda.
ARNOLD WELLS
Some allegations in the public
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.
Valentinas Interiorexpand
Inside Valentina's
N/A
A literal paper trail
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.
DEADLINE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

 

[Smax 3800]

hmmm

 

Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ Is Being Sold to New Owners

Texas barbecue restaurant Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ is closed in Buda from April 25 through May 8 as it undergoes a management change and is in the middle of being sold to new owners, as reported by Austin Business Journal (ABJ).

Valentina’s co-founders pitmaster Miguel Vidal and Modesty Vidal announced the temporary closure and impending management change on Instagram on April 25. Jennifer Storm, the CEO of the Buda Economic Development Corporation — which invested in the restaurant — told ABJ that the sale is in the middle of being made now. The new owners will be named once it’s finished.

Over on Instagram, the Vidals wrote, “For us, scaling our business from 600 square feet to 6,000 square feet 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.” They’re referring to issues with the restaurant’s tip policy a month after it opened last summer. Statesman food editor Matthew Odam shared that Valentina’s food and service “did not meet the lofty standards” of the newspaper

Under the new management and eventual new ownership, the Vidals note in their Instagram post that the couple will still be at the restaurant. Eater has reached out for more information.

The couple started Valentina’s in 2013 as a food truck on West Sixth where Miguel Vidal blended Tex-Mex and barbecue flavors and techniques, leading to the barbecue-laden breakfast tacos among other smoked meats and dishes. Since then, the business has gone through different locations, iterations, and off-shoot trucks (Violet Taco, Cash Cows Burgers), all with their dream of opening a physical restaurant. But that never shook out until the Buda location at 308 South Main Street, which opened as their first full-on restaurant in the mixed-use development Buda Mill & Grain in June 2023.

 

https://austin.eater.com/2024/4/26/24140760/valentinas-tex-mex-bbq-sale-new-owners-temporarily-closed-buda-texas-barbecue-restaurant

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

10 minutes ago, Smax said:

Valentina’s co-founders pitmaster Miguel Vidal and Modesty Vidal announced the temporary closure and impending management change on Instagram on April 25. Jennifer Storm, the CEO of the Buda Economic Development Corporation — which invested in the restaurant — told ABJ that the sale is in the middle of being made now. The new owners will be named once it’s finished.

Over on Instagram, the Vidals wrote, “For us, scaling our business from 600 square feet to 6,000 square feet 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.” They’re referring to issues with the restaurant’s tip policy a month after it opened last summer. 

not a good look for the city of buda.  wasted tax payer money on a couple with excellent bbq skills, but questionable business practices and no experience running a b&m eatery. 

sounds like a disaster from the beginning.

 

38 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Is that a lot?

not to surly 1%.

 

[tx 3 putt 76868]

How many surly investors did they screw over ?

Too soon ?

[tx 3 putt 76868]

Quote

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.

surly ties ????

[Texzilla588 769]

A complete clusterfuck. If he was doing $4.5 mil out of the trailer operation he should have stayed with that. Unless he’s a total idiot with finances that should have provided a nice living. But they fucked that up and did $3m instead of their projected $10. That’s some dumbassery there.

The investors didn’t do their due diligence. Having tax liens and a bunch other questionable items should have been a red flag, besides the fact they had zero experience with bricks. And now a very messy pile of loans and liens and ownership issues and also a federal employee investigation.

So as often with barbecue, expansion exposes all the flaws. Being able to smoke great brisket never should imply any business acumen.

[Jerry Callo 8695]

Moving the business to a city of 16k and expecting to more than double revenue in the first year seems insane.  Add the fact that expenses rose exponentially, and it makes zero sense.  Poor management practices just made the implosion happen sooner.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

13 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

Moving the business to a city of 16k and expecting to more than double revenue in the first year seems insane.  
 

it makes complete sense when people are in your ear, reminding you how great you are. 

throw in tax incentives with anchor tenant clout and you get a recipe for disaster.

 

[Post Oak 20205]

So just because I guy can smoke some good que he and others think he should be given 100s of thousands of dollars and responsibility of running payroll for maybe 100 employees. 

This reminds me of what Charles Barkley said about a team giving Stromile Swift a 20million dollar contract because he was a great athlete.

They gave him that money because he can run fast and jump high.  So can a deer. You wont see people linking up to give a deer 20 million dollars.

[YChang 3443]

I thought the quality was pretty poor from my last few visits compared to when they were just the trailer. 

[CooterBrown 18002]

Valentina's was doing $4.5 million in annual revenue out of its food truck

 

[Underdog 28544]

Maybe Modesty had a side business in a different trailer that contributed to that $4.5 mil. 

[YGIFS 19449]

First red flag:  The brick 'n mortar property was owned by?  You guessed it.  Nate Paul.  

[tx 3 putt 76868]

3 hours ago, Texzilla588 said:

A complete clusterfuck. If he was doing $4.5 mil out of the trailer operation he should have stayed with that. Unless he’s a total idiot with finances that should have provided a nice living. But they fucked that up and did $3m instead of their projected $10. That’s some dumbassery there.

The investors didn’t do their due diligence. Having tax liens and a bunch other questionable items should have been a red flag, besides the fact they had zero experience with bricks. And now a very messy pile of loans and liens and ownership issues and also a federal employee investigation.

So as often with barbecue, expansion exposes all the flaws. Being able to smoke great brisket never should imply any business acumen.

no way they were doing 4.5mil / year in bbq

no fucking way 

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

6 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

no way they were doing 4.5mil / year in bbq

no fucking way 

 

come on man.  i read it on the internet. it must be truuuuuu.

 

[Texzilla588 769]

no way they were doing 4.5mil / year in bbq
no fucking way 

At the prices he charges it adds up fast. Margins suck ass though.

[jimmyjazz 45880]

57 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

no way they were doing 4.5mil / year in bbq

no fucking way 

Yeah, seems way out of line. That would be $12K/day if open 7 days per week.

[immamac 42835]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, seems way out of line. That would be $12K/day if open 7 days per week.

That’s 120 $100 groups. A $100 group can easily be 4 most likely is 2. That’s 500 people give or take. 

[jimmyjazz 45880]

2 minutes ago, immamac said:

That’s 120 $100 groups. A $100 group can easily be 4 most likely is 2. That’s 500 people give or take. 

Are you suggesting their trailer did that 7 days per week?  I don't even know how many days they were open.

[immamac 42835]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

Are you suggesting their trailer did that 7 days per week?  I don't even know how many days they were open.

They were open 6/wk. I’m sure most busy days they did double that if not more. 

12k in food/drink sales isn’t that crazy when the average per person $ amount is at least $25. 

[jimmyjazz 45880]

OK, $14.4K per day on average.  575 customers at $25 per head.  Color me very skeptical.

[immamac 42835]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

OK, $14.4K per day on average.  575 customers at $25 per head.  Color me very skeptical.

60 briskets avg cooked weight of 10lbs is 12k in food cost alone. 

Any popular BBQ spot can do 60 briskets in a day. Especially the 3rd most popular one in Austin. 

Did you ever go there? The line was always 20-30 deep for hours on end. I believe it. 

[hornbri 1393]

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

OK, $14.4K per day on average.  575 customers at $25 per head.  Color me very skeptical.

I agree it seemed a little high at first but it is in the believable range. 

[jimmyjazz 45880]

1 minute ago, immamac said:

Did you ever go there? The line was always 20-30 deep for hours on end. I believe it. 

Half of that was breakfast tacos and hamburgers.  Whatever, we won't resolve this.

[immamac 42835]

Also I’m sure their catering prices were crazy and I bet they did a good amount of that. Let’s call it 15% of gross. 

[deft 6836]

African swallow or European swallow?

[Texzilla588 769]

That’s 120 $100 groups. A $100 group can easily be 4 most likely is 2. That’s 500 people give or take. 

I believe that was supposed to be the main trailer, the other different branded trailers, and the wife’s catering business.

Still I thought $4.5mil is a lot of business. But the article seemed to imply that was in the financials.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

shots fired.

 

 

Edited April 29 by Shaggy3.0

[tx 3 putt 76868]

[tx 3 putt 76868]

For comparison …

Taste of Texas

Location	Houston, Texas
Annual Sales	$23,180,522
Average Check	$64
Meals Served	356,894
Total Seats	501

 

 

[Your Mom 4805]

Well, those are easy numbers to hit…. 

If you have fucking pickles!

[tx 3 putt 76868]

1 minute ago, Your Mom said:

Well, those are easy numbers to hit…. 

If you have fucking pickles!

they couldn't figure out 5 gallon buckets of pickles But raked in 4.5 mil 

[Your Mom 4805]

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.
 

I used to go to that trailer a lot and try to get there at odd times like 3:00 in the afternoon on a weekday and there would be 10 fucking people in line even then.  And another 10 already eating. They had times when the line wasn’t too long, but they almost never had times when there was no line at all.  Just ringing up at least $20 per person almost nonstop all day.  

Edited April 29 by Your Mom

[tx 3 putt 76868]

12 minutes 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.
 

I used to go to that trailer a lot and try to get there at odd times like 3:00 in the afternoon on a weekday and there would be 10 fucking people in line even then.  And another 10 already eating. They had times when the line wasn’t too long, but they almost never had times when there was no line at all.  Just ringing up at least $20 per person almost nonstop all day.  

 Chic fil a knows how to handle pickles 

[Firemans4Horn 18034]

12 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

Your average Chick-fil-A brings in that much revenue

Your average chik fila has probably 40 employees and is one of the most efficiently run businesses on the planet. A bbq food trailer has maybe 6 employees, limited hours, and is slow as shit to turn out orders. Not even close to an apt comparison. 

[deft 6836]

lol at chick fila comparison.

[jimmyjazz 45880]

If the Q2 trailer was only open for home games, then I doubt it would move the needle.

If it was open other hours, then I fucked up big time, because my office is right behind Q2.

[Deej 76752]

19 hours ago, Texzilla588 said:

he was doing $4.5 mil out of the trailer operation

And still had tax liens. 

[blacklab 11926]

8 minutes ago, Deej said:

And still had tax liens. 

[kevwun 15759]

The move always seemed dumb.  I miss those breakfast tacos though.

[texasdago 7565]

Expanding to a location 10x the size of your original location seems like a brilliant idea.

[Jerry Callo 8695]

45 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

If the Q2 trailer was only open for home games, then I doubt it would move the needle.

If it was open other hours, then I fucked up big time, because my office is right behind Q2.

Only open for home games, in which there are 17 (plus a few other random matches).  They were selling $12 brisket tacos, $12 pulled pork sandwiches, and 1/2 racks of ribs at like $28.  While it quite a bit of revenue for 3-4 hours, it barely factors into the $4.5m stated yearly revenue.

[tx 3 putt 76868]

23 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Expanding to a location 10x the size of your original location seems like a brilliant idea.

4.5 mil x 10 = 45 mil !!!!

[gsoda3 3245]

On 4/27/2024 at 11:23 PM, Shaggy3.0 said:

not a good look for the city of buda.  wasted tax payer money on a couple with excellent bbq skills, but questionable business practices and no experience running a b&m eatery. 

sounds like a disaster from the beginning.

 

not to surly 1%.

 

 

21 hours ago, Texzilla588 said:

A complete clusterfuck. If he was doing $4.5 mil out of the trailer operation he should have stayed with that. Unless he’s a total idiot with finances that should have provided a nice living. But they fucked that up and did $3m instead of their projected $10. That’s some dumbassery there.

The investors didn’t do their due diligence. Having tax liens and a bunch other questionable items should have been a red flag, besides the fact they had zero experience with bricks. And now a very messy pile of loans and liens and ownership issues and also a federal employee investigation.

So as often with barbecue, expansion exposes all the flaws. Being able to smoke great brisket never should imply any business acumen.

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.

 

Edited April 29 by gsoda3