A federal bankruptcy court judge has approved a reorganization plan to allow Mestizo Restaurant to pay off its creditors and emerge from bankruptcy.
The plan, approved Oct. 16 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Douglas D. Dodd, lays out how the owners of Mestizo will pay off the restaurant’s debts to its creditors, which include the IRS and city of Baton Rouge, Mestizo attorney Patrick Garrity says.
Court filings show the restaurant made more $281,000 in payments to creditors the fourth quarter of 2015, up to Dec. 18. In that same report, Mestizo owner James Urdiales told the court that he paid all his bills, employees and taxes this month, as well as filed all the required government paperwork.
Urdiales filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 6, amid struggles with creditors stemming from myriad issues, including the opening and subsequent closing of a second restaurant, La Mestiza in Prairieville, which left the owner with a lot of debt, Garrity says. The latest court filings do not indicate how much debt the restaurant’s owner has accumulated.
“I think that Mestizo’s will continue to provide good service to its customers, and this will allow them to continue to function and should have a long successful run,” Garrity says.
The restaurant, located at 2323 S. Acadian Thruway right off Interstate 10 across from TJ Ribs, opened in 1999 and offers a Cajun spin on Mexican cuisine.
—Ryan Broussard
