Austin's Nixta Taqueria creates GoFundMe to help stay open amid electric issues with city

Austin favorite Nixta Taqueria is turning to the community for help in keeping its doors open.

Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi, the husband-and-wife co-owners of Nixta Taqueria, started a GoFundMe early on Thursday with a goal of $80,000. The restaurant’s problems began Aug. 16, when “electricity was abruptly disconnected from the majority of our building,” the couple wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Rico told the Statesman that the City of Austin pulled the restaurant’s electricity without notice because it was running with too many amps that day. Or in the words of Sharon Mays, District 1 Council Office chief of staff, the restaurant's meter overloaded due to more power flowing in than the meter itself could handle. This triggered an alert to Austin Energy.

A city spokesperson said the overabundance of power was enough to cause the electrical wiring to overheat and melt.

“They... told us that this was going to be a simple fix,” Rico said. “Our electrician needed to call to make an emergency permit and then maybe upgrade the service to 200 amps.”

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out so easily. Rico said the emergency permit was denied because the city found an AC unit the previous tenant installed illegally in 2018.

Rico said that when the building underwent inspection to open in 2019, neither the city inspector nor anyone else took issue with the AC unit.

“All of a sudden, four years later into us operating after surviving the pandemic ... you’re telling us that we have to restart and redo it again due to an AC system that was installed in the building prior to us taking over and that your city inspector approved when we took over,” Rico said.

The City of Austin is now requiring the restaurant to cease most operations and conduct a full site plan.

“What is generally a 24-hour repair that would have cost around $10k has now ballooned to a 3-6 month project that will require upwards of $100,000, the displacement of our team, and a shell of what our restaurant operations are,” the GoFundMe page says.

More: Austin restaurants make Yelp list of top 100 places to eat in Texas

Conflict with the city

Since the initial electricity issue, Rico said he’s been going back and forth with the city and receiving contradictory information. For example, the city called on Friday to say the permit had been approved, only for a second call to come in 30 minutes later saying the opposite, according to Rico.

Mays, who said Natasha Harper-Madison's District 1 Council Office is working closely on the issue, said the permit's current status is undetermined.

"I have been working on this all day today trying to get to a resolution so that Sara and Edgar have actionable steps to move forward," Mays said. "I have personally not heard an update about the status of their permit."

The city told Rico the restaurant could still serve to-go orders, but without AC, the building is a roasting 125 degrees. That makes cooking inside it impossible, and Rico said the restaurant has already had to throw out a couple thousand dollars worth of product.

“They’re challenging that the electrical that we have in our building is not safe, but the simple thing is, if... (we) upgrade to the 200 amps that is required of the building, then all of this can go away,” Rico said. “It’s so insane to me how much back-and-forth we’ve gotten from the city.”

A city spokesperson told the Statesman that the city has "pulled together a cross-departmental team to provide a path forward."

"The restaurant will need to upgrade its electrical service and make other needed repairs to ensure safe operations, such as meeting fire code and accessibility requirements," the spokesperson said. "Our expectation is that we will be able to find solutions that allow them to continue limited operations while critical electrical hazards and life safety issues are addressed."

Rico said the whole situation feels like an attack, especially after surviving COVID-19 and serving as a kind of Austin poster child through the PBS documentary “Taco Mafia.”

“We feed hundreds of people daily through our Austin (Free Fridge Program). We have brought home a James Beard Award for the city of Austin,” Rico said. “The irony in all of this is that the city of Austin is publicly paying for a documentary that is going to be made about (us and other taco spots).”

More: Austin PBS welcomes new show 'Taco Mafia,' featuring Nixta Taqueria, Cuantos Tacos and Discada

Support from the community

Rico said the other restaurants from that very documentary, Cuantos Tacos and Discada, have offered their extra food trailer. Nixta Taqueria may place the trailer out front and operate at a lighter capacity than usual.

The restaurant is also considering acquiring a short-term food incubator lease.

Rico said he hopes to find a solution that prevents Nixta Taqueria’s 35 employees from being let go. Some of the GoFundMe donations will go toward keeping those employees on payroll. The restaurant will also use the GoFundMe money to pay for architect, structural engineering, electrical, plumbing and permitting expenses, among other costs.

More: One of Austin's top chefs was named to Time's 100 Next list. Here's why.

As of 10:30 a.m. Friday, the GoFundMe was over its $80,000 goal with$83,202 raised.

“You’ve been a community anchor and a bright spot in the Austin food scene,” one donator wrote.

“Nixta is an incredible restaurant and Sara & Edgar are special people,” wrote another. “As a native Austinite, it is restaurants like this that help keep us weird, root us to our past and push us into new and exciting areas. Nixta forever!”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin's Nixta Taqueria creates GoFundMe, asks for help staying open