'Top Chef' winner Gabe Erales parts ways with Bacalar, as restaurant temporarily closes

Less than a year after opening, Bacalar, the sophisiticated Yucatán -inspired Mexican restaurant from "Top Chef" winner Gabe Erales has closed.

“Bacalar was a very ambitious project that was focused on the regions and cuisine of the Yucatán. Our hope was to create a thoughtful project of inclusion and proper representation of Mexican culture,” Erales told the American-Statesman Tuesday. “We hoped it could be a restaurant patrons enjoyed daily, but (it) seemed to quickly be perceived as a special occasion restaurant. That, coupled with location and the financial strains of local ingredients in the growing, challenging environment of the industry in Austin, made it very difficult to be profitable."

Erales said he was informed that his partners in the restaurant, which include Urbanspace CEO and founder Kevin Burns, had decided to transition the restaurant to a more casual concept closer to what they have been offering next door to Bacalar at Tómalo Taquería . It is unclear whether Tómalo Taquería is currently open.

"My partners at Urbanspace had been reevaluating the investment into a restaurant like Bacalar and also listening to feedback from residents in the building and neighborhood that wanted more accessibility," Erales said, adding that he and his partners have ended their relationship.

An Instagram post from the restaurant Monday says that the closure is temporary. The note also says, "You spoke, we listened. Exciting changes coming soon." The American-Statesman has reached out to the restaurant for more details.

Erales, who is also a partner in the Tex-Mex restaurant Ometeo in the Washington D.C. area , said it is too early to think about what his next move might be in the Austin market.

"I think I need to take some time to deal with this post-traumatic shock for a moment," Erales said.

Bacalar opened at 44 East Ave. in the Rainey Street District in September 2023, serving elegant Mexican cuisine in a large space at the bottom of a residential tower. It was Austin's latest entry into the modern Mexican market that includes Comedor, La Condesa, Suerte, El Naranjo and Fonda San Miguel. The restaurant landed an honorable mention nod in Texas Monthly's list of Best New Restaurants in the state last year.

From May 2023: 'Top Chef' winner Gabe Erales opening new restaurant Bacalar, adjoining Tómalo Taqueria

Erales, who was the first Mexican-American chef to ever win the Bravo competition show, previously worked at La Condesa and Dai Due (among others), as well as at the Noma pop-up in Mexico, before gaining national and local acclaim at Comedor . It came out during Erales' run to the "Top Chef" crown that the chef had been fired from Comedor the previous fall for violation of the restaurant's policies on harassment and discrimination .

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'Top Chef' winner Gabe Erales parts ways with Bacalar, as restaurant temporarily closes