Matt's Rancho Martinez Is Not Closing

I'm not sure when Dallas's Only Daily started using the East Dallas Times as its go-to source for restaurant comings and goings. But, sweet fancy Moses, Bruce -- pick up the phone before you report that Matt's Rancho Martinez in Lakewood is closing.

Wasn't very hard to get Matt Martinez III on the phone just now. And he says he hasn't heard from anyone at The News. He also said the restaurant on La Vista has no plans to go anywhere for at least another year -- till February 27, 2012, which is when his lease runs out.

"So we have a whole 'nother year on our lease," Martinez tells City of Ate. "At that point, the landlord is entertaining all comers for the location. We put in our bid and told them to talk to us, but ultimately it'll be up to the landlord. At that point, soon as we hear one way or another, we'll figure out what to do. Now, we may move down the street if we have to, but we're not going anywhere. We have no plans to close."

How'd this story get started, then?

"I just heard something about [The News] blogging we'll be closed March 1," he says. "It's rampant, all the different rumors going around. So I don't know who let it out. From the beginning I've been dealing just with the landlord. I never told anyone what's going on, but someone's spilling beans one way or another. We don't want to go. We love the community, we love our customers, and we'll so what we can to stay here. It'll be a business deal, and if they choose to go with another tenant, we'll do what we need to do and relocate. But we hope that's not the case -- and it won't be for another year anyway."