"It's a major project and I'm very thankful to the Mitchell family for trusting me to be a steward of this building for the next 30 years," Facundo Caminos told The Galveston County Daily News after he bought Old Galveston Square at 2211 Strand.
That one sentence explains most of the change at 23rd and Strand over the past year and a half. The Italian dinner spot closed. So did the long-running gift shop. The Tex-Mex cantina announced in 2023 was most recently expected to open this month. Most of these changes happened in buildings that moved from Mitchell Historic Properties to Caminos Historic Properties. What opens next on this corner now depends on one island-born landlord's plans, not on the company that restored these buildings decades ago.
Three Landmarks, One Owner
Caminos graduated from Ball High School in 1995 and works as an attorney. The Daily News reports he has bought about six properties from Mitchell Historic Properties. That company started selling its downtown buildings after George P. Mitchell died in 2013. Mitchell Historic Properties put more than $125 million into commercial space, loft apartments and three hotels, mostly within The Strand National Historic Landmark District.
At this intersection, he owns three of the most important buildings:
- Hutchings-Sealy Building, 2326 Strand. He bought it in 2022. Nicholas Clayton designed it, and it went up in 1895 and 1896. The Daily News calls it one of the earliest examples of steel-frame construction in Texas.
- Thomas Jefferson League Building, 2301-2307 Strand. He bought it in 2023. It dates to 1871.
- Old Galveston Square, 2211 Strand. This 65,000-square-foot property combines four historic buildings and one newer structure. The oldest is the E. S. Wood Building, finished in 1857. The property is also tied to "The Stone Trumpet," the large David Adickes sculpture brought to Galveston in 1986.
When he bought Old Galveston Square, Caminos said he planned improvements and wanted a family-friendly mix of shopping, entertainment and food. That goal is a useful way to read each change below.
What Closed, and in Which Building
The closures came one by one, and they didn't all happen in the same building.
- Stuttgarden Tavern, 111 23rd St., summer 2025. The German beer hall had 50 draft beers, a stage and a rooftop beer garden in the 1912 Armour & Co. Building next to Saengerfest Park. That building was never part of the Caminos purchases. Armour & Butterowe LLC bought it from Mitchell Historic Properties in 2023. Stuttgarden's Texas City location at Mainland City Centre is still open.
- Tina's on The Strand, April 30, 2026. The gift shop in the Hutchings-Sealy Building closed after 20 years. The Daily News covered the owners' decision to wrap up.
- Riondo's Ristorante, 2328 Strand, late August 2026. Rico Caminos and Don McClaugherty opened Riondo's in 2014 in the space where Luigi's Ristorante Italiano had operated for 17 years. Rico Caminos is the landlord's father. The owners first called the closure a temporary restructuring. In September, The Daily News reported that the closure was permanent.
The Riondo's space is now the biggest open question on the corner. In the Oct. 2 Biz Buzz column, Caminos hinted that a new restaurant could take its place, but he didn't share details. Since the same owner controls both the closed Italian room and the building across 23rd Street where El Tiempo is set to open, one landlord will decide what kind of dinner this corner serves next.
El Tiempo's Long Countdown
The opening across the street has taken much longer than anyone planned. El Tiempo Cantina announced it was coming to the island in May 2023. It first aimed to open in April of the following year. As Chron reported, it underestimated the work needed to bring one of The Strand's oldest buildings up to code.
| When | Projected opening | Source |
|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | Announced for the island; April of the following year targeted | Chron |
| December 2025 | Renovations about 80 percent complete; "early 2026" | The Daily News, via Chron |
| Aug. 14, 2026 | As soon as Oct. 1, possibly closer to mid-October | GM Mark Elam to Chron |
| Oct. 2, 2026 | Expected to open "this month" | The Daily News |
In August, general manager Mark Elam told Chron that small plumbing and electrical issues were the last hurdles. At that point the restaurant was hiring kitchen staff in a second-floor office one elevator ride from the dining room. When it opens, it will be El Tiempo's 19th Houston-area location. Roland and Domenic Laurenzo, the son and grandson of "Mama" Ninfa Laurenzo, run the chain. The Daily News reports it has 14 corporate-owned restaurants and four franchises, and it isn't clear which kind the Galveston location will be. Caminos owns the building, not the restaurant.
The building has its own history. According to the Texas historical marker Chron cites, its first tenants included the clothier Isaac Bernstein & Co., a cotton brokerage and a stationer and bookseller. From 1921, the Sass and Levy families ran Ben Blum Hardware Co. there for 50 years. A cantina on the ground floor is the latest use in a long line of them.
If El Tiempo opens this month as planned, it could come close to filling the dinner gap Riondo's left. The two restaurants will sit across 23rd Street from each other, and both buildings answer to the same owner.
What's Open on the Corner Right Now
The corner isn't empty. The smaller shops and bars in the Caminos buildings are still open, and they range from a skate shop to a bubbly bar.
Inside the Thomas Jefferson League Building, 2301 Strand
- Patch Co., Suite 105, a retail shop with posted store hours on its own site.
- Belle's Bubbly Bar & Boutique, a bar and boutique with a party room you can book through its site.
Inside the Hutchings-Sealy Building
- Belle Lees on The Strand, 2326 Strand, Suite 110, a separate shop run by the same owners as Belle's Bubbly.
- Reverie Skate Shop, 2328 Strand, Suite 260, upstairs. It sells roller skates and gear and hosts weekly skate sessions, according to its Visit Galveston listing.
Across 23rd Street at Old Galveston Square
- When Caminos bought the property, the tenants included The Admiralty, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Buster's Old Time Photos.
A block east, 2110 Strand
- Brewchachos Tacos & Cantina fills the space Stuttgarden left when it moved to 23rd Street in 2018. Brewchachos is another concept from the Stuttgarden owners. Its site lists hours from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and online ordering. Right now it's the latest late-night table near the intersection.
No new tenant has been announced for the Armour & Co. Building at 111 23rd St. That building has a different owner, so its next chapter is the one piece of this corner that isn't being decided at Caminos Historic Properties.
Two Downtown Dates Before the Holidays
The corner will get busy soon. LULAC Council 151's Día de los Muertos Fiesta is Saturday, Oct. 31. The parade starts at 1 p.m. at 25th and Ball and heads toward The Strand, with music, vendors and cultural performances, according to Visit Galveston. A month later, the Galveston Historical Foundation's 53rd Dickens on The Strand runs Dec. 4 to 6. It will have parades, four entertainment stages, and new additions called Tiny Tim's Play Land and Shopkeeper Skills Village. Whatever has opened at 23rd and Strand by Dec. 4 will be the corner's lineup for that weekend.
For more on how downtown fits into island life, see our Galveston neighborhood guide and our earlier look at why the island's newest openings aren't as new as they look.
If you own property downtown or in the East End and want to know how changes like these could affect your block, Spagnola Realty Group is glad to talk it through. Get Exclusive Access to Top Listings and Schedule a Consultation.
