Spanish Village Restaurant in Houston’s Third Ward closing after more than 50 years

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — One of Houston’s oldest restaurants is closing its doors in 10 days.

The Spanish Village Restaurant, a known staple in Houston’s historic Third Ward, is shutting down after more than 50 years of serving the community.

Chef and co-owner Ishita Chakravarty told on Wednesday both the pandemic and the aging building put a strain on the family business. They decided it was time to sell.

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“Stuff didn’t stop breaking,” Chakravarty said. “We’re still not where we were at before COVID. We’re still not there yet. So, it’s just at this point, when somebody came in wanting to buy the building and the land and they have enough money to fix it, it just doesn’t make sense to do that when we’re hanging on to the building by a thread.”

The owners made the announcement on social media this week and said they plan to say goodbye to decades of memories on Saturday, July 17.

“We’ve been coming here for so long, it’s like family,” said Elaine Wells, who has been dining at the Spanish Village for 25 years. “Then you wonder, ‘Where are the people going to go? What are they going to do?’ I talked to one of the waitresses and she said she wasn’t sure what is going to happen.”

A GoFundMe has been created to help their loyal staff during the transition.

Chakravarty said they will keep the public updated on their next steps following the closure.

“I just want to say thank you,” Chakravarty said. “I hope that, somehow, we can keep Spanish Village going for them.”