[UPDATE] Once Popular Mexican Chain Now Gone Entirely From Georgia

On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, according to court documents. The casual Mexican chain had in recent years shrunk its metro Atlanta presence to a single store, but now even that one is closed too.  

The final Atlanta area store, located in an outparcel of Buckhead Station just off exit 2 of GA 400, closed in recent days, according to a source in the area. The roughly 7,800 square foot building is not yet marked as "available" on the site plan of property owner Regency Centers but it likely will soon. 

The Buckhead restaurant could very well be the most appealing backfill opportunity of the chain's Atlanta former units given its premier location, stellar visibility, and plentiful parking.  

The first On The Border opened in Dallas in 1982 and under subsequent owner and restaurant industry juggernaut Brinker International grew to a chain of 160 restaurants by 2010 with units across the country and abroad.  

An affiliate of Atlanta-based private equity firm Argonne Capital Group purchased the then 121-unit brand in 2014.  (Separately, in 2014, Utz Brands, a large snack food producer, acquired the rights to manufacture chips and dips under the On The Border brand name.)

  

ToNeTo Atlanta has reported over the past year or so on the closures of On The Border restaurants in Buford, Alpharetta, and Kennesaw.  The company previously also closed locations on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth and on Atlanta Highway in Athens.  At the time of the restaurant's bankruptcy filing, it indicated it operated 60 restaurants.   

ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report in December that the former On The Border in Kennesaw will be demolished with plans for Atlanta's first Portillo's to open in its place.  While the Chicago hot dog joint would surely like to take the Buckhead location as well, it's not likely as there's approximately zero chance that they could obtain an all-important drive-thru approved at the former On The Border property.  

Back at Buckhead Station, Regency Centers has over the past decade had to backfill two large anchor spaces after bankruptcies and has just a limited amount of one space remaining.  

Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 in 2015 and closed all of its stores.  Regency ultimately replaced the toy store with a relocated World Market and a new Saks OFF FIFTH.  More recently, Bed Bath & Beyond also filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and closed its Buckhead store with a majority of its former space replaced by a first-to-market Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store this past August.  About 16,000 square feet of the former Bed Bath & Beyond remains available for lease.   

A former Wells Fargo bank branch near the entrance to the center, but not part of it, was recently demolished and is expected to be rebuilt into a new Jared jewelry store.  

What would you like to see open in place of On The Border in Buckhead?  Who do you think does the best casual Mexican food in town?  Have you been to the Bloomingdale's Outlet store?  

Please share your thoughts below.