Restaurateur Rallies El Tiempo Supporters to Dine at the Embattled Tex-Mex Restaurant

Russell Ybarra, owner of Jimmy Changas and Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen, is rallying Houston diners to eat at El Tiempo Cantina amidst its still-swirling political controversy.

As El Tiempo fends off backlash after co-owner Dominic Laurenzo posed for a selfie with (and served dinner to) U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Ybarra used Twitter to encourage supporters of the restaurant to meet him at El Tiempo’s location on Navigation. To sweeten the pot, Ybarra promised supporters that lunch would be on him, and offered the potential for their own selfie with Laurenzo.

Scope out his invitation below:

Houston’s restaurant owners have stayed largely silent on the controversy, which began when Sessions visited El Tiempo over the weekend, with one key exception. Montrose Tex-Mex institution El Real used its prominent outdoor marquee to display a cheeky, not-so-subtle criticism of El Tiempo’s decision to welcome Sessions with open arms despite his anti-LGBT views and involvement in the Trump administration’s family separation policy.

Stay tuned for more details on how many Houstonians took Ybarra up on his offer.

• Mexican Restaurant Owner’s Jeff Sessions Selfie Was Always Going to Inspire Backlash [EHOU]
• Montrose Tex-Mex Restaurant Not-So-Subtly Calls Out El Tiempo Over Sessions Controversy [EHOU]