On the Border is down to 5 restaurants

The Tex-Mex chain was left out of casual dining’s revival and closed about 30 of its company-owned restaurants in the last week.

Restaurant closures

On the Border has closed all of its corporate-owned restaurants, leaving the brand with just five stores in the United States, according to its website.

The chain said the closures were “an incredibly tough decision,” and said it was “deeply grateful to the guests and team members who supported On the Border for so many years.”

On the Border closed scores of restaurants in the months leading up to its bankruptcy filing last year. By the time Pappas Restaurants acquired it out of Chapter 11, the Tex-Mex brand had about 60 company-operated restaurants. An archived version of the chain’s website from the end of May listed 35 open locations.

On the Border has suffered a protracted decline in its unit count over the last several years, with 138 stores open in 2021, per its 2023 franchise disclosure document, 133 at the start of 2023, and about 120 at the start of 2025. Over that period, On the Border made a number of moves to try to stabilize its business, like launching a queso-focused loyalty program in 2022 as part of a brand turnaround. In 2023, the chain became an early adopter of tiered loyalty.

Rebranding efforts

When it took ownership of the chain, Pappas said it planned to improve operations, strengthen the brand’s menu and generally modernize it.

Over the last several years, well-managed casual dining chains have been able to leverage value plays, menu quality and investments in operations to reverse traffic declines and, in some cases, take significant share from QSR brands left vulnerable by rising prices.

But On the Border was unable to seize that moment. Many of the turnarounds that larger casual chains undertook required significant cash, which may have been difficult for a brand under new ownership and just coming through Chapter 11. Other casual dining brands, like Red Lobster, have also continued to suffer after emerging from bankruptcy.