If nothing else, the future of Sebas' Cocina is in doubt.
However, Sebas' Cocina owner Sebastian Garduno told me directly on Thursday afternoon that the rumors about the restaurant's imminent closing were false.
Garduno admitted frustration stemming from multiple factors common to the restaurant business, namely keeping employees and balancing financial obligations. He also conceded that he's at a crossroads but repeatedly denied that Sebas' Cocina would be closing its doors after Thursday.
When I inquired about the various paintings in his restaurant, he offered to sell me the entire collection for $10,000. I declined based on two main factors 1) my art budget is significantly less than that and 2) I was really only interested in the Willie Nelson portrait and maybe those of The Beatles and Tom Landry.
I have heard from two sources in the last month that the restaurant might not last through the summer, which is what led me to eat lunch at Sebas' Cocina and inquire with Garduno about the restaurant's future.
For the record, I would hate to see them go. When it opened, Sebas' Cocina immediately jumped to the top of my Mexican food favorites list. While working at the Tribune-Herald, I insisted the other sports guys take me there whenever I won a lunch bet. This happened more frequently than you might think. We all liked it, too. Occasionally I would lose a lunch bet and whoever won would invariably choose Sebas' Cocina.
While eating lunch there today, I noticed it drew a decent lunch crowd of at least two dozen patrons between noon and 12:30.
But more than three years since it opened, Sebas' Cocina is still operating as a BYOB establishment as it hasn't acquired a liquor license. It seems like a place that presents itself as upscale Mexican cuisine needs to offer fancy margaritas and Mexican martinis among other libations.
More on this story as it develops.
