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 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.
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.
4 comments:
That’s too bad - OTB was a go-to for me and my girlfriend for a long time. They fell off badly during/after Covid in terms of staffing and food quality (across several locations we tried around town) and couldn’t seem to recover.
Agree with the other poster. During/After the pandemic OTB just fell off. Many years ago they were a great place. A favorite of around the 2007-2010 period. I remember having my 15th birthday dinner at the Kennesaw one.
The only place now you can get OTB is the frozen section of the grocery store
And they still have the chibs
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