Tijuana Flats closed nine South Florida restaurants in the days and weeks before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday.
The company, a fast-casual purveyor of Tex-Mex dishes like tacos, burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas and flautas, announced the filing Friday in a press release. It also announced that a new ownership group has taken control of the company “with a plan to revitalize its restaurants and revitalize the customer experience.”
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing allows a company to restructure its operations while paying off existing debts. Tijuana Flats' filing, filed in the U.S. District Court in Orlando, said the company had assets ranging from $1 million to $10 million and liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million.
Friday's press release stated that 11 of the company's restaurants were closed last week. The statement said that the sale and bankruptcy process was the result of a “strategic review” that began last November. The company has explored various options including a potential sale.
The closures “were the result of a unit-by-unit analysis of financial performance, occupancy costs and market conditions,” the statement said.
The company's Boynton Beach location was the only Tijuana Flats location in South Florida to close last week, a company spokeswoman said via email Monday. Others were in Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and one in Virginia, she said.
However, the company has closed eight other South Florida locations since late 2023, according to a search of Google and Yelp listings, phone calls and nine eviction cases filed in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Six of the eviction cases were resolved, either through settlements or by securing the landlords' victory by default, according to court records. It's not clear what will happen in three open eviction cases, including one against a still-operating location in Royal Palm Beach.
Typically, litigation against defendants is put on hold when they file for bankruptcy protection.
Jason Descalzo, a manager at Deerfield Beach Tijuana Flats, said he was “saddened” by the near-wave of closings, but emphasized that his location “is still going strong after 24 years.”
“We were not affected in any way,” Descalzo said. “We don't have any plans for the dark.”
The new owners, a California-based company called Flatheads LLC, said they plan to focus on “quality controls, speed of service, food consistency, serving size, and improving the store experience.” As part of that goal, the owners plan to renovate several locations to “give them a refresh,” according to the press release.
The chain was founded in Winter Park in 1995 as the Tijuana Flats Burrito Company. An Orlando Sentinel review of the first restaurant in 1996 detailed the wide range of hot sauces customers could choose.
Currently, the company operates 65 company-owned stores in Florida. Twenty-six franchise locations operate in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama.
However, a Google search for the company shows a description indicating it has more than 125 locations, suggesting 34 have closed in recent months.
In South Florida, nine locations recently closed.
they:
- Fort Lauderdale – 1619 E. Sunrise Blvd.
- Coconut Creek – 6970 State Route 7.
- Plantation – 1371 S. University of Dr.
- Pompano Beach – 431 Federal Highway S.
- Boynton Beach — 390 N. Congress Street.
- West Boca Raton – 20401 State Route 7.
- West Palm Beach – 2089 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
- Oakland Park – 5065 Old Dixie Highway.
- Miramar – 14633 Miramar Parkway.
The closures leave 10 Tijuana Flats restaurants still open in South Florida, as of Monday:
- Lauderhill — 7942 W. Commercial Blvd.
- Cooper City – 8703 Sterling Rd.
- Coral Springs – 6204 Sample Rd.
- Deerfield Beach — 278 S. Federal Highway.
- Hollywood – 3357 Sheridan Street.
- Jupiter – 6771 Indiantown Rd.
- Lantana-Lake Worth — 6201 S. Jog Rd.
- Pembroke Pines – 12598 Pines Blvd.
- Royal Palm Beach — 280 S. State Road 7.
- Weston – 1110 Weston Road.
Ron Hurtebes covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at [email protected].
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