A little over a year after Houston-based Pappas Restaurants bought the chain, On The Border Grill & Cantina says it's closing all of its company-owned restaurants by Friday, June 12.

OTB Hospitality, which does business as On The Border, says in a statement provided to CultureMap that this “difficult decision” followed 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,” OTB Hospitality adds.

OTB Hospitality says franchised locations in California, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, and South Korea operate independently and will stay open.

This year and last year have been tumultuous for On The Border.

The Tex-Mex brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025, citing inflation, rising interest costs, and weak traffic. About half of its restaurants closed in conjunction with the bankruptcy case. Pappas Restaurants bought the chain out of bankruptcy in May 2025 after submitting a $15.9 million bid; the final purchase price wasn’t disclosed.

“On The Border has been woven into the fabric of Texas dining for decades, a place where generations of guests have gathered, celebrated, and returned for the Tex-Mex they love. Now, it’s part of our family," Christina Pappas, chief marketing officer at Pappas Restaurants, said in a press release last month.

“This brand carries a deep heritage and a loyal community that we are proud to welcome to the Pappas family,” she added. “We’re delighted to honor that history with the quality and hospitality that Pappas is known for, while continuing to evolve the brand for loyal guests, both old and new.”

Founded in Dallas in 1982, On The Border operated 34 locations, including 17 in Texas, as of June 11, according to its website.

Twelve of the Texas locations are in these DFW cities: Arlington, Bedford, Burleson, Cedar Hill, Denton, Fort Worth, Garland, Mansfield, Mesquite, McKinney, Rockwall, and Weatherford. The five others are in Corpus Christi, Texarkana, Tyler, Waco, and Wichita Falls.

The remaining 17 locations are in Arkansas, California, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. It’s unclear how many of those are franchised or company-owned.

On The Border’s U.S. store count collapsed from more than 150 in late 2024 to just under 70 by February 2025 — shortly before its Chapter 11 filing — and 57 as of this January, according to location-data provider ScrapeHero.