Las Manitas Gets Some Serious Love from Our City Council
Las Manitas Gets Some Serious Love from Our City Council
Temperatures were rising at 590 KLBJ-AM on Thursday of this week. Sitting in for Jeff Ward, I began the 2nd half of the show with an interview with councilperson Jennifer Kim, one of the five on the council who had voted for a $750,000 “forgivable” loan package for the displaced Congress Ave. restaurant.
I asked Jennifer why Las Manitas was so special to merit such an entitlement: especially in light of other restaurants like The Empanada Parlour, City Grille, Pao’s, The Athenian Grille, all who were forced to move yet received no largess from the city. (In the case of the Empanada Parlour, owner Ashe Correa and her husband were actually forced into bankruptcy.)
Jennifer told me that the council considered Las Manitas to be an icon of sorts. And she voiced concern that the Perez sisters, who were moving into a building down the street that they already owned, would have their loyal customer base disrupted with a move that was any substantial distance from the original restaurant. She also mentioned that this was a pilot program and that anyone who either operated on Congress or part of E. 6th was eligible. Uh huh!
From my understanding, Las Manitas is a favorite of a lot of local politicians including Kirk Watson and Gus Garcia. Garcia was quoted as saying that this loan would go a “long way toward keeping Austin weird.”
You bet Gus! Annoyed by the charge that political favoritism was afoot, Mayor Wynn likened Las Manitas to a cultural melting pot. “There are people from all walks of life who dine there.” So I guess that means that every restaurant that appeals to people from all walks of life should get what amounts to a free loan from the city. Try telling that to all the downtown restaurants that have had to close in the past year.
We fielded many calls on KLBJ-AM that afternoon. Not one of them was in support of the council’s vote. One call came from restaurateur Howard Kells of Dona Emilia’s. Kells made a great point: his restaurant had to borrow $400,000 from the SBA to get rolling on their transition from E 7th St. to downtown across from the Four Seasons. And he was forced to get very creative on construction costs and supplies. And not one cent of his loan is going to be forgiven. Sound familiar? It’s called business. He pointed out that he would be supportive of a low-interest loan to the Perez sisters. But not an almost total bail-out. I agree with Howard. In fact, instead of targeting Congress Avenue, the city should reach out to all the downtown restaurants that are being touted as “magnets” for all those people moving into all those new condominiums.
You can’t single out Las Manitas when there have been no comparable offers to downtown restaurants in similar situations. And I do enjoy Las Manitas. And you know what, if they moved a mile down Congress to S. Congress, I would still go there. And I’d bet money 99% of their regulars would as well.
What do you think? Email rob at info@diningoutwithrobbalon.com. All coherent replies will be posted.
The Passing of Nu Age Café
When Ethel Liu’s husband Greg, co-owner of Nu Age Café in W. Austin suddenly passed away from a major heart attack, I was deeply saddened. Greg was one of the most affable, congenial, and genuinely nice guys in a business that can sometimes fray the nerves of proverbial saints.
Ethel cannot make a go of it without her friend and partner, and so this extraordinary woman and gifted chef is packing up her bags for San Francisco to be with her daughter and son-in-law.
All of us will miss Nu Age. It was more than a vegetarian restaurant. It was a celebration of the spirit manifested by its two amazing owners. Sadly, I doubt that we will see the likes of it anytime soon in the River City.
