The Tex-Mex restaurant landscape is shifting as On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina finds itself in the throes of financial upheaval, joining the ranks of several other casual dining chains in the pursuit of bankruptcy protection. Owned by Atlanta-based Argonne Capital Group, On the Border made its filing Tuesday in a federal bankruptcy court located in northern Georgia, as detailed by NBC Chicago.
Attributing its financial difficulties to a mix of elevated inflation rates and a transformative shift in consumer dining habits, the chain has been wrestling with a landscape where eating at home has become preferential largely due to the soaring prices in eat-in establishments—and thus subsequently adversely affected their revenue streams, according to claims made in the bankruptcy documents. Amid these pressures, the company has confronted further financial strain due to increased minimum wage standards and has faced notable challenges in both the recruitment and retention of employees, as cited by ABC News.
In just a month prior, On the Border had to make the difficult decision to shut down 40 of its locations, yet maintains operational status in 60 establishments across 18 states, which will continue to serve customers while the bankruptcy proceedings are active. This includes 20 additional restaurants that are run by franchisees in the U.S. and South Korea. "On the Border said it expects to complete a sale of its assets soon," as stated by NBC Chicago.
The chain, which traces its origins back to a single Dallas establishment in 1982, has seen various hands at the helm over the years since Brinker International—an entity known for owning Chili's—took ownership and aggressively expanded the brand through franchising, only to sell it to Golden Gate Capital in 2010 which in turn sold it to Argonne in 2014, as per a statement obtained by ABC News.
