March 26, 2020

The owner of a Tex-Mexican restaurant in south Sioux Falls is selling his building but plans to keep his family’s recipes going once the COVID-19 pandemic has eased its grip on the economy.

Rudy Navarrete closed the doors to Rudy M. Navarrete’s Tex-Mexican Restaurant on Tuesday. He has a purchase agreement with a buyer for the property on 57th Street just west of Western Avenue.

“I was walking a tightrope the past six months. I was optimistic, but the bank wasn’t,” said Navarrete, who opened the restaurant in September 2018, bringing the recipes from his family’s longtime business in Sioux City. In addition to tacos, enchiladas and burritos, Navarrete’s menu included his grandmother’s signature entomatadas.

The pandemic dashed his optimism too.

“I agree I have to get out of here right now,” he said. “This is going to be going on for a couple of months. Small businesses, we’re going to be dropping like flies.”

Letting go wasn’t easy, Navarrete said.

“My dream always has been a mom-and-pop shop,” he said. “I wanted to have my food in a beautiful building. I had to pinch myself. I would see my reflection in the mirror or windows, and I wanted to cry, I was so happy. It was an expensive dream.”

Even when sales weren’t keeping up or just meeting expenses, Navarrete never wavered from his commitment to giving back to the community. On Monday nights, he donated 10 percent of sales to nonprofit organizations, and occasional taco bars were held that gave all proceeds to charity. At Christmastime, he organized a fund drive to buy new brand-name tennis shoes for children receiving services though the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire.

“I believe that’s what my calling is. I just love the ripple effect of giving. They see it, and then they give.”

Until the uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis passes, Navarrete plans to continue doing first Friday taco feeds at the golf course in Rock Valley, Iowa. He said he might end up working at a fast-food restaurant to pay the bills for a while or trying to find a kitchen in a bar that he could use, but he knows he’ll have his own business again someday. “I have to have a restaurant.”

It might not be in Sioux Falls, though. Navarrete said he also sees potential in northwest Iowa or Des Moines. He doesn’t rule out ending up back in Sioux City either.

Navarrete’s final message to diners is to support other local restaurants.

“If you haven’t heard of a place, go to it. If you haven’t tried it (a different cuisine), try it.”

The sale of the 57th Street building is expected to be complete before summer, said Ryan Tysdal of Van Buskirk Cos., the listing broker for the property.

“This is a transaction we’ve actually been working on for a while now, even before the COVID-19 situation,” he said. “We are still on track to close on the sale of the property later this spring, which speaks directly to the high level of confidence we continue to see from investors in the Sioux Falls economy. Deal flow continues to be strong.”

The buyer intends to keep using the site for a hospitality use, Tysdal said.