On the Border closes most of its locations
The Mexican casual-dining shut down all of its corporate restaurants about a year after exiting bankruptcy.
June 15, 2026
On the Border has closed most of its restaurants, just over a year after it was acquired out of bankruptcy by Pappas Restaurants.
All company-owned locations of the Mexican casual-dining chain shut down after service on Friday, according to a statement from OTB Hospitality following “a thorough evaluation of the business.”
“We are currently evaluating the future of the On The Border brand and exploring a range of strategic options,” the company said.
It appears that 27 restaurants were closed, leaving the chain with five franchised U.S. locations, in South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, and California, according to On the Border’s website. It also has at least one franchised location in South Korea.
The closures cap a rapid decline in unit count for Dallas-based On the Border over the past year and a half. It had 80 restaurants last March when it was acquired by Houston-based Pappas, and had closed 77 struggling locations leading up to the filing. As of the end of last year, it was down to 57, according to Technomic, and on Friday, its website listed 33 units, prior to that day's closures.
On the Border was founded in 1982 in Dallas. It’s known for its Tex-Mex fare such as fajitas as well as margaritas and guacamole. It was acquired by Chili's owner Brinker International in 1994 and grew quickly in the early 2000s, reaching 166 locations in 2007. It was sold to Golden Gate Capital in 2010 and sold again in 2014 to Atlanta-based investment firm Argonne Capital Group.
It began to see persistent sales declines starting in 2008, and closed a large number of locations in 2024 and 2025. Sales fell nearly 33% last year while unit count was slashed by 42%, per Technomic. It was the fifth-largest Mexican casual-dining chain in the country, with total sales of $152 million.
Pappas operates about 90 restaurants across several other brands, including Pappasito’s Cantina, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, and Pappas Bar-B-Q, mostly in Texas. At the time of the acquisition, it said it planned to modernize On the Border’s restaurants and update its menu and operations.
In a statement Friday, it said it will provide more information about the next steps for On the Border in the next few weeks.
Here is the company’s full statement on the closures:
“On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina has made the difficult decision to move forward with a significant transition in its restaurant operations, which will include the closing of company-owned locations by end of day Friday, June 12, 2026.
This decision follows a thorough evaluation of the business and was not made lightly. We are currently evaluating the future of the On The Border brand and exploring a range of strategic options.
Our immediate focus is on supporting our team members through this transition and ensuring an orderly and respectful closure.
The franchise locations in South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, California and South Korea operate independently, and will remain open.
We appreciate the loyalty of our guests and the dedication of our employees over the years.”
About the Author
Joe Guszkowski
Senior editor, Restaurant Business
Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.
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