End of an Era: Austin’s Las Manitas: “Closed.”
When I arrived at work today (the Tuesday after Labor Day), the first words out of editor Evan Smith’s mouth were, “Las Manitas is closed. They’ve hauling the furniture and fixtures out the back and there’s a big sign on the front door that says, Closed Forever.” Forget the Republican Convention. Forget Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy. Some things are just more important.
The beloved, controversial, unpredictable Austin Mexican restaurant that for 27 years has been a virtual boarding house for downtown workers, movers, and shakers closed its doors after Sunday brunch on August 31. Its loyal customers–count me one–had expected that there would be, oh, at least a month, or even several months, before it moved out of its old location into new digs nearby. But the shaky detente between the purchaser of the property (White Lodging Services Corp., parent company of Marriott hotels) and Las Manitas’s proprietors, Cynthia and Lidia Perez, came unglued at the end of last week for reasons that are–I’m just going to say they’re fuzzy, in order to avoid stepping in a bear trap.
In any case, Las Manitas is now outta there. The place is a sad sight. The tables and chairs are gone, so are the booths, but the artwork is still there. Employees were moving the kitchen work tables out when I went down to see what was happening around 11 a.m. Fortunately the gas and electricity and water was still on and some of the ladies were cooking refried beans and quesadillas on the stove, apparently for their own lunch. Ultimately, the plan is for Las Manitas to move down the block into the building that is presently La Pena gallery. The Perez sisters own the new place, but renovation hasn’t really begun. Also, given that the floor was entirely ripped out, right down to the bare earth, and that water from a faulty pipe or main was oozing all over the place, things didn’t look so good. Cynthia jokes that she’s going to be selling tacos under a tree soon.
Nobody expects it to come to that, but for now the home of the Paco’s Taco is, well, homeless.
SM says:
After 30 years of living in Austin, I’m becoming hard-pressed to find reasons to stay here any longer.
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Dan Pope Reply:
May 1st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I live here in East Texas and have a friend that moved here from Georgetown, and he says the same thing. Austin is slowly being run over by money. He left because of the impending over-development. Fewer reasons to stay come every day.
Personally, Las Manitas was my little morning haunt when I’d visit Austin. I would actually pick Las Manitas over Moonshine just because of it’s character and delicious food. Now that’s saying something.
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Richard Chiarello says:
Breakfast after the Capitol 10-K at Las Manitas has been a Chiarello family tradition for the last 8 years. We will miss this place very much.
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linda says:
the sisters and their staff and their very special place on s. congress will be missed more than i can express. they were the one constant of our routine for out of towners’, our regular get-together place with friends and our “what should we do for breakfast?” answer….(or lunch!!!) we feel the loss, austin has lost…
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Bill Fairchild says:
Arghhhhhhh!
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Brad Martin says:
The venue was so much the thing. The Pérez sisters will conjure sufficient art and artifice at their next venture; the comfort my mind found in that noisy, crowded, happenstance happy place is now just memory.
On the /bright/ side, maybe this finally opens up a spot for a new Bennigan’s downtown!
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John Keehler says:
I visited Austin for the first time this last weekend, and everyone told me to eat at Las Manitas, so my fiance and I did… we were still talking about it this week. I’m glad I got to eat here at the original location!
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kp says:
This is a loss for sure – but if this makes it hard pressed for you to stay here in Austin – don’t let the door hit ya on your way out.
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seonaidh says:
We love you Las Manitas, even those transfered Austinites in the cold Pacific Northwest!
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Rip says:
Given that Bennigan’s filed for bankruptcy back at the end of July and closed a bunch of restaurants, I wouldn’t count on seeing any new ones anytime soon.
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Luciano "Lucky" Salinas says:
From Houston and all points in between, Cynthia and Libby will always be our sister (manitas) because they helped without looking for the publicity or the headline! they just did what people do…they got things done and helped artists and school kids remember that love is free and kindness is the thread the binds all together! We “all” will miss home because that was what they had for us! The good sweet smell of home…the laughter…and the hugs that helped you know all would be alright! No they were not sisters, they are sisters to all!
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anonymouse says:
SM, so true. This was a true treasure and it’s a shame it closed. Best beans in Texas from the hardest working small business owners in the state.
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anonymouse says:
Oh, the videos are awful – seeing the walls all empty like that. What a shame what a shame.
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Teresa says:
I am so sad to hear that Las Manitos has closed. Food isn’t the only thing the Perez sisters served there, heart, community, a way of life that nourishes more than the hungry stomach. The things that make life rich from the inside out…..
I hope you do re-open, in a way that makes what you have created even stronger. That beauty is worth preserving, even in the face of this political frenzy. In my eyes what you both created holds allot of beauty and value. Thank you. Please don’t go away……..
Teresa
Ancient Medicine Today
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Lisa Z says:
How did I miss this announcement? Where was the black-wreathed Texas Monthly cover this sad occasion deserved. I grew up in Austin and am stuck living in the DFW metroplex at the moment, but we visited home for the holidays right after Christmas and saw the rubble of our beloved Las Manitas. What a dreadful shock! Las Manitas back porch area was where my little son first tasted aguas frescas de sandia (and then required another giant glass). Its counter is where I went to avoid mediocre convention lunch at downtown hotels. Are the sisters ready to open Las Manitas de Phoenix yet?
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George says:
I ws there for the ACL festival in ‘07 and found Las Manitas and fell in love. I grew up with (home made) mexican food in Bakersfield CA, and this was the real thing. Even better were the people and the atmosphere fostered by those sisters.
Sorry for your loss, Austin. (Best town in Texas).
George
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Sheila says:
I am a flight attendant who has visited Austin quite frequently over the past 9 years. One of my favorite places to eat was Las Manitas. It embodied, to me, the character of Austin’s downtown – some modern buildings, some funky places. Now Austin is undergoing “progress” which is destroying the character it once had. Who cares about one more high rise downtown? It’s just sad that the city’s leaders have learned nothing from other towns who have undergone the same homogeneous development to the detriment of their cities’ souls. Unfortunately downtown Austin may soon look like Dallas. Blech.
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Zashkaser says:
I wanted to ask, is there any chance for a modified version of the directory listing script, with an iphone-stylish like design?
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Pat Sharpe Reply:
August 5th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Hi, Zashkaser: I’d like to respond, but could you give me a little more information about what you would like modified. Is it the type size? Or the typeface? What do you feel is the problem? Thanks so much. Pat
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