Latest update: Despite talks on Monday, April 15, owners held firm that all occupants of Callejon San Antonio #2 must vacate the building. All had been paying rent to an unscrupulous “landlord” who pocketed the cash for nearly a year.

Restauranter Keli Silveyra posted this on Facebook Monday afternoon:

“An end of an era The family that owns the spot has contacted us. They are looking at selling the location, and or renting it out to higher bidders It sounds like they have offers already. We will be getting our restaurant out as soon as possible. They were very very kind considering, money is money.”

It is the absolute unfairness of it all that is so crushing.

A lawyer, bookcased by two municipal police officers, shows up at Callejon San Antonio #2 this morning and gives the renters, leaseholders, hotel guests, and restaurants orders to leave the premises and take their possessions with them.

Not a few hours, not a day — but now.

The building is huge — a boutique hotel, an art studio or two, offices, some apartments, and its best known and most visible resident, Silveyra’s restaurant, aka “comida comfortable.” The building wraps around the corner and faces the Ancha where a boutique shop and bank do business.

Keli and Ruben Silveyra have been able to negotiate a day’s reprieve during which they hope to talk with the actual family that owns the building, the ones who ordered all the evictions.

Only the evacuees were allowed into the building today to retrieve their possessions but we could see Ruben, the lawyer and owners huddled in the back. Ruben was pointing toward the expansive mural of family and friends that takes up one wall.

Meanwhile, the guy who has held the lease on the whole property, Carlanton Mandujan (aka Omar Prado Lozoya), was running around promising to have everything straightened out in a couple of hours. His promises were largely met with glares from his former tenants as they loaded bags and bedrolls into nearby vehicles.

He made promises like this before — when the electricity was periodically shut off, when other utilities were shut off.

Word outside was that Omar, dressed like Darth Vader in his black pants and black puffy jacket, hadn’t been paying utilities nor rent to the family for months, if not a year or more. In the past, when the power company cut its cables, Omar would wait for them to leave then make an illegal hookup across the street.

But the rent. I’m guessing enough was enough. Omar is about $800,000 pesos in debt to the owners. That represents money that renters, restaurants, and the like were handing over unwittingly.

It is worse. Omar was enticing renters to take out long-term leases at very attractive rates — as long as they paid the bundle in advance. Some of the evictees are paid up well into the year and will now likely see none of that.

Logical, since with Omar, “the buck stops here” has an all-too-sinister meaning.

One of the actual owners has provided a storage space for the victims of this process. He’s even loaning his pickup to move their property.

Maybe it is grasping for silver linings, but there was some speculation that the family had to cut off the spigot to Omar so they could move him off the property, bust his contract up, and start fresh.

Keli and Ruben are keeping things hopeful. “Just another Thursday,” said Keli, with a wry but pained smile. She kept telling concerned customers and friends who showed up to support them, “This ain’t over yet, baby. We’re fighters and we’re survivors.”

If you know their back story — a brutal eviction from the U.S. to building one of the most beloved restaurants in San Miguel de Allende, you know this is no idle boast. One wall of the restaurant is taken up with a mural of faces, beautiful faces — people who have supported Keli and Ruben on their odyssey. The mural represents an even bigger community of friends, fans, frequent diners, followers, and foodies who have come to revere the couple and the restaurant’s comfort-food fare.

As customer Lois Eltman recently posted about the restaurant, “You come for the food, stay for the love.” That’s no exaggeration.

Keli Silveyra posted this on Facebook around 4 p.m.: “The guy we originally rented from (who said he owned the building when we rented) did not own the building. The actual owners who have not been paid rent for a very long time, legally repossessed the property.

“To do so they had to have all tenants, renters, etc, vacate the premises including all of their belongings. It was a very harsh and emotional day for all. So many people had paid long-extended contracts, for years, and now their money is gone. Dot Fusion Studio who had just paid a three-year contract, totally remodeled their space — just had to tear it apart and take it away.

“Today was rough.

“The owners are open to discussions with us continuing there. Not sure if it will be feasible or possible, as it is a family-owned property and not just a single person. We are hoping to schedule a meeting soon.

“It was also a hard day for them. They were unable to just let the property go forever, without making money on it. We are never out, we are just down. I will update more when possible. For all of you that came by, and messaged, texted, you are what makes San Miguel so special. We walk together. I am going to try and process the last 5 hours.”

But meanwhile, the doors are closed to business and the revenue they so badly need has dried up.

But this story isn’t over. Not yet.

We’ll post updates and things develop.