Stellar Mexican Restaurant El Naranjo Is Closing in Downtown Austin

El Naranjo, the downtown Austin Mexican restaurant from chef Iliana de la Vega, is closing. The 85 Rainey Street restaurant’s last dinner service will be on Saturday, November 16, with lunch ending on Friday, October 4, and brunch on Sunday, October 13.

However, El Naranjo co-owners de la Vega and Ernesto Torrealba’s recently opened South Lamar expansion, which took over the old El Chipiron space on 2717 South Lamar Boulevard in mid-September, will remain open.

“While it’s a difficult decision, in order to continue doing what we love—and having fun with it along the way—we have made the decision to end services on Rainey Street,” de la Vega and Torrealba shared in a statement.

The South Lamar El Naranjo will add brunch service starting on Sunday, October 20. Then its hours will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday for brunch, and then 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. It will expand for lunch at a later date.

They opened El Naranjo in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1997, which they had to close because of political troubles in the region, and moved to Texas. They reopened El Naranjo as a food truck in Austin on Rainey Street, and then transitioned it into a restaurant with a focus on Oaxacan dishes in 2012. De la Vega was a James Beard Award semifinalist chef this year.

• All Coverage of El Naranjo [EATX]