Txokos Basque Kitchen, the full service restaurant that was part of the opening footprint of East End Market, has closed. According to sources, the current owners are looking to sell the assets and the lease.
Txokos was originally the project of New Smyrna restaurateurs Heny and Michele Salgado. Their NSB restaurant Spanish River Grille is a popular destination. Txokos was an homage to the cusine and culture of Spain’s Basque region.
It opened in 2014, but the Salgados decided to concentrate efforts on Spanish River Grille and and a new project, as yet unopened, in New Smyrna Beach. They sold the restaurant in September of 2015. After only a few months, the restaurant was sold again. The current owners were Armando Castelluci and Ricardo DiSilva.
I reviewed it in April under the current owners and its new chef, Gina Bugayong. I observed at the time that the restaurant was empty during the prime hours on a Friday evening. So the notice of its closing is not a surprise.
What is a mystery is why it was so readily abandoned by the local dining public.
Perhaps answers will be forthcoming.
This is a developing story.
