The last Casa Olé location in Beaumont is still open, but the building has hit the real estate market and is currently being leased.

The restaurant, at Eastex Highway and Dowlen Road, was opened in 1981 by the late Beaumont businessman Tom Harken.

Last Tuesday, an employee first told KFDM/Fox 4 that the restaurant would move to the current location of Leslie’s Pool Supplies in the Target shopping center in the same building next year.

KFDM/Fox 4 left a message with Houston-based MRI Heritage Brands, Inc. last week seeking further comment, but our messages were not responded to.

Public records at the Jefferson County Appraisal District show the location is currently assessed at $1,003,425.

Casa Olé has closed two longtime Southeast Texas restaurants in less than two months.

Our media reporter, KJAS Radio, first reported that the Jasper location closed its doors on October 19th.

A sign on the door of the restaurant on North Wheeler Street read: “We are permanently closed. It has been a pleasure to serve you over the years!”

The Jasper closures come on the heels of Casa Olé on Interstate 10 near Calder Boulevard closing its doors Aug. 23 after serving Tex-Mex favorites to generations of Southeast Texans for four decades.

Casa Olé was founded in Pasadena by Larry Forehand in December 1973. Southeast Texas restaurants have been known for years as “Poppee’s” in television commercials with the slogan “It’s another Casa Olé day!” It was run by Tom Harken, who was known by the slogan. The ads featured Harken’s grandson, Trace, who died last year at the age of 33.

Harken, who became a literacy champion by learning to read at a late age, died in 2013 at the age of 76.

Harken sold his restaurants to Houston-based Mexican Restaurants in 2003.

Locally, Casa Olé locations remain open in Orange, Silsbee and Vidor. Central Mall and Twin City Highway locations in Port Arthur will also remain open.

The restaurant chain also has restaurants in Conroe, Pasadena, Bellmead, Bryan, Temple, Victoria and Sulfur, Louisiana.

Temple Casa Olé announced in a Facebook post this month that it will be leaving its longtime home at Temple Mall to open a new location in SW HK Dodgen Loop, on the site of a former Monterey Little Mexico restaurant also operated by MRI Heritage Brands.