The Webster El Tiempo Cantina that closed its doors in early September may not be gone for good.

A spokesperson for El Tiempo Cantina's corporate office told Community Impact Newspaper that the franchise owner of the Webster location indicated the restaurant may reopen at an undisclosed future time. No timeline, conditions or additional details about a possible return were provided.

The restaurant at 20237 Gulf Freeway shut down abruptly after operating for nearly a decade. A statement posted to the Bay Area Houston Food Lovers Facebook group on Sept. 2 said the franchise ownership had fought hard to keep the restaurant open but gave no specific reason for closing. The KHOU report on the Houston Business Journal's coverage noted that HBJ was unable to reach El Tiempo's corporate office at the time.

As we reported Sept. 4, the closure caught the community off guard. The corporate office's new statement to Community Impact marks the first time the company has publicly addressed the Webster shutdown.

The Webster restaurant was one of four franchised El Tiempo locations, according to Houston Press. Most of the chain's locations across the Greater Houston area are corporate-run.

Roland Laurenzo, a son of Ninfa "Mama" Laurenzo, and grandson Domenic Laurenzo founded El Tiempo in 1998 after the family's original Ninfa's restaurant business was sold in a bankruptcy filing, Houston Press reported. The chain has since expanded across the region and opened a location at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2023.

The corporate office has not said what led to the Webster closure or what would need to happen for the location to return. No further updates have been announced by the franchise owner or El Tiempo's corporate team.