A Mexican eatery that’s been an east-side Indianapolis fixture for decades has closed.

El Sol de Tala shut its doors earlier this month amid a court dispute between the restaurant’s owner and his landlord.

Rubin Pazmino took control of El Sol at 2444 E. Washington St. in 2008 after he became partners two years earlier with Javier Amezcua, who founded the restaurant in 1979.

Pazmino owes building owner 2444 Acquisitions LLC $263,308 in back rent, plus interest, according to a lawsuit filed in March by the owner. Pazmino stopped paying monthly rent of $5,500 in August 2011, court documents said.

The complaint is related to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy also filed in March by 2444 Acquisitions, which lists total debt of $658,041, including a $275,000 mortgage. It lists assets of $807,543—of which $557,500 is the estimated value of the building.

James Chalfont of Indianapolis, who bought the property in 2007 at a sheriff’s sale, is the managing partner of 2444 Acquisitions. He lists himself as a creditor in the bankruptcy reorganization and claims he is owed $65,000.

Scott Kreider, the attorney for Pazmino, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on El Sol’s closing.

“It’s always been a mainstay in that east-side area,” said Bill French, a veteran retail real estate broker at Cassidy Turley. “El Sol was one of the first really true authentic Mexican restaurants that appeared on the scene many years ago.”

This is not the first time the restaurant has faced financial trouble. Under former owner Amezcua, El Sol filed for Chapter 11 in December 2005 after mounting tax bills forced it to reorganize.

The previous filing involved El Sol’s downtown location in Union Station, which Amezcua opened on the first floor in 2003. It closed in April 2007.

