A downtown Fredericksburg restaurant has filed for bankruptcy as parts of its efforts to stay open.

Las Palmas Café, a Puerto Rican restaurant at 409 William St., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month in the Richmond division of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Las Palmas remains open for dinner and late-night entertainment but is no longer doing lunch most days.

Jeanette Reyes–Soto, who owns Las Palmas, said the weak economy, slow summer and a family emergency have made it impossible to cover all the restaurant’s expenses, including its rent.

She said the bankruptcy filing allows Las Palmas to remain open in the William Street space while attempting to restructure through the court.

“We’re trying to stay open,” she said. “We’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Las Palmas moved into the much larger space on William Street this past March after relocating from 707 Caroline St.

Reyes–Soto said the lunch hour was too slow to justify staying open. Las Palmas continues to serve dinner every night but Monday and holds late-evening events including college night on Wednesdays, star search on Thursdays, salsa night on Friday and a variety of music on Saturday nights.

She said they’re doing football Sundays and might start opening for Monday Night Football.

Las Palmas has received noise complaints on 23 different occasions since April 1, according to Fredericksburg Police Department records provided by spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe.

The complaints have been about loud music or loud customers leaving. Only once, on July 22, has the business received a summons for violation of the city noise ordinance.

Every other time the officer found that either no violation existed, or that the business and its customers complied with requests to quiet down.

The caller refused to give his or her name most of the time. Las Palmas moved into the 8,000-square-foot space at 409 William a couple of months after the previous tenant, restaurant and bar University Café, closed following just eight months in business.

Tommy Mitchell owns the building.

—Staff librarian Craig Schulin contributed to this report.

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
bfreehling@freelancestar.com