And the Wuhan coronavirus takes down another Austin favorite restaurant:
A darn shame. We’d been eating at Enchiladas Y Mas since they were down at their old location, and they were a semi-frequent breakfast meeting place. But there is some potential hope:Important Austin Tex-Mex restaurant Enchiladas Y Mas is now closed on 1911 West Anderson Lane, after 26 years of service, as announced through its Facebook page. Co-owners Robert and Mary Martinez already knew that they would not renew the Crestview restaurant’s lease, which was ending in June. “This was our decision,” they wrote in the post, because they wanted to retire. The Martinezes originally intended on keeping Enchiladas open through June, but they had to change their plans because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. In accordance to city orders, they closed the restaurant’s dining room and served takeout food only on Tuesday, March 17, for several days. Then they decided to halt that service on Saturday, March 21, because, “financially, it didn’t work out for us,” they explained.
However, Enchiladas Y Mas might return: Eva and Carmen Hernandez, the restaurant general managers and daughters of former co-owner Roe Hernandez (Mary’s brother who passed away last year), are looking to buy the business from the Martinezes. If and when that happens, the restaurant would reopen, though it’s unclear if that would happen after the dine-in service ban ends on Friday, May 8, or before that date.