Austin Tex-Mex spot Z'Tejas closes all locations after 36 years

After more than three decades serving up Southwestern Tex-Mex in Austin, Z'Tejas, a restaurant chain, has officially closed its doors for good. The restaurant’s website confirms the final remaining location in Kyle ceased operations on June 30, marking the end of a 36-year run for the brand across Texas and Arizona.

The Kyle closure culminates a challenging period for Z'Tejas, which began 2025 with four operating restaurants. Earlier this year, the company shuttered its Austin outpost in the Avery Ranch neighborhood. The final dinner service at the Kyle restaurant took place on June 29, before the business permanently closed its doors.

Nearly four decades across Austin

This recent wave of closures follows a significant change in 2023, when Z'Tejas bid farewell to its flagship location at West Sixth Street and North Lamar Boulevard. That original restaurant, a fixture for 33 years, was a cornerstone of the brand's identity. Its departure signaled a shifting landscape in an area where long-standing businesses have given way to new developments.

The closure of the original West Sixth Street location wasn't a sudden decision. Randy Cohen, who assumed sole ownership of Z'Tejas in 2020, told the Statesman in 2022 that he had known since his initial purchase that the site was slated for redevelopment.

At the time of the purchase, Cohen had expressed a personal motivation to keep historic Austin restaurants alive, having witnessed the closure of other local institutions like Threadgill’s and Hut’s Hamburgers. He hoped to keep the West Sixth Street location, where renowned chef Jack Gilmore guided the restaurant’s expansion in the '90s, operational until a new Z'Tejas in Kyle was ready to open. While the West Sixth location eventually closed in 2023, the Kyle restaurant continued the Z'Tejas legacy for a time.

The company, which began the year with intentions to sell the business, has now shut down all its stores.