El Tiempo Cantina's Galveston location has been in the works for years, with Houston-area diners waiting to see it open. The Tex-Mex chain's outpost sits inside the historic Thomas Jefferson League Building at 2301 The Strand, a structure built in 1871, and the building has been tied to the restaurant's Galveston ambitions since 2023.
A report by Chron covered El Tiempo's path toward opening its doors on the island. El Tiempo has described itself as a Houston-based Tex-Mex restaurant. The chain is expanding to Galveston.
Once open, the Galveston restaurant is expected to become El Tiempo's 19th Houston-area location, per Chron's reporting. Domenic Laurenzo leads the chain, and his grandmother was Ninfa Laurenzo, according to the Galveston County Daily News.
A Long and Winding Road to Opening Day
El Tiempo announced its expansion to Galveston in May 2023, with renovations set to begin within two weeks. The restaurant's timeline has shifted more than once since then: it originally projected an ambitious April 2024 opening, according to the same report.
By December 2025, property owner Facundo Caminos told the Galveston County Daily News that renovations were close to 80 percent complete, pushing the projected opening to early 2026. Caminos clarified that his company owns and leases the building but does not own El Tiempo or the other businesses operating inside it.
General manager Mark Elam said the location could open as soon as Oct. 1, though resolving minor plumbing and electrical issues could push the date closer to the middle of the month. El Tiempo was hiring for kitchen help and planned to move on to recruiting front-of-house staff the following month.
What Comes Next for the Strand District Spot
El Tiempo's Galveston location would mark the end of a years-long buildout inside one of the Strand's most storied buildings. The chain also has a temporarily closed location in Webster, according to Chron's reporting, though no details were provided on that closure's cause or timeline.
The project has repeatedly outpaced its own projections. After years of shifting timelines, Galveston diners are still waiting to see when the restaurant will open.
