Trudy’s Tex-Mex closes one of two remaining locations, but says it is looking to expand

One of Austin's longest running Tex-Mex chains is near extinction, but promising a renaissance.

The Trudy's Tex-Mex restaurant empire has been whittled down to one location after the South Star location at Stassney Lane and I-35 closed on Monday. The closure leaves only the Trudy's North Star at Burnet Road and US 183.

The Austin chain was purchased by a venture capital firm in 2020

Trudy's which originally opened in 1977 was purchased out of bankruptcy in 2020 for $6.5 million by North Carolina-based venture capital firm Hargett Hunter Capital Management. The company said at the time of the acquisition — which included three Trudy's locations (a fourth closed in 2019) and South Congress Cafe — that it intended to grow the brand across Texas and the country.

But there have only been closures since that time. The company said the location near the University of Texas campus that was shuttered would be renovated and reopened, but it has remained closed and is currently listed for lease.

The new Trudy's owners also closed South Congress Cafe in 2021 after an 18-year run and converted it into coastal Mexican restaurant Trudy's Del Mar, but that restaurant only lasted about a year.

New CEO says Trudy's is 'eyeing new locations' around Austin

Trudy's, which is operating with a new CEO who has been with the company for a month, released a statement saying that despite its Austin-area closures, the company is "eyeing new locations around the Austin metro area, along with expansion into the Houston and San Antonio markets."

“We have looked at multiple options to keep this location open, but the economics and changes in the immediate shopping area unfortunately do not work,” Trudy's CEO Scott Taylor said in a release.

A company registered as UpStreet Trudy's LLC, registered in 2022, owns the land on which Trudy's South Star sits.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Trudy’s Tex-Mex closes South Star location, leaving one remaining