Sirloin Stockade Restaurant in Eagle Pass, Texas set to close for business

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017

Longtime Eagle Pass, Texas restaurant known as “Sirloin Stockade” announced that Sunday, March 19, 2017 will be its last day open for business as its owner has decided to close the local favorite eatery and sell the real property to a third party.

This is the second Eagle Pass restaurant to close within the month of March 2017, causing the community to lose over 50 jobs between Danny’s Restaurant and Sirloin Stockade.  

There are several factors reported for the slow business situation currently facing Eagle Pass on the United States-Mexico border, including the devaluation of the Mexican Peso during September 2016 through current time, the higher costs of crossing the City of Eagle Pass International Bridges, President Trump’s anti-Mexican policies such as personally attacking all Mexicans as rapists and criminals, the proposed construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, the passage and enforcement of new immigration detention and deportation policies of undocumented aliens, the proliferation of almost 75 taco stands/mobile food vendors in Eagle Pass and Maverick County, the layoffs of local employees by international trade and transportation companies due to Trump policies, the high unemployment rate of up to 11 percent in Maverick County, the low median income of Maverick County residents, the exorbitant ad valorem property tax appraisals made by Maverick County Appraisal District and increase of ad valorem taxes, loss of trust of public officials due to convictions for corruption, increased gasoline prices in Mexico, and many other factors too numerous to list in this article.

While some businesses are closing down in Eagle Pass, there are signs of several new businesses opening within the community.  The U.S.-Mexico border is a difficult place to successfully operate and manage a profitable business.  Some businesses succeed in becoming profitable, but not before making extraordinary sacrifices and changes to succeed.