Popular Mexican Chain Closing All Company-Owned Locations, Including Last NJ Restaurants

On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is closing all of its company-owned locations across the country, including its remaining restaurants in the state.

The Tex-Mex casual dining chain has been a staple throughout New Jersey and the United States for decades, but had fallen on hard times.

Its parent company, Pappas Restaurants, announced the closures of its remaining locations, including ones in Princeton and Mount Laurel.

Five independently-owned franchise locations of On The Border will remain open: two in California, one in Florida, one in Nevada and one in South Dakota.

The closures mark an end to a 44-year history for the Mexican chain.

On the Border once operated over 150 U.S. locations and several in South Korea. But many sites were closed following the company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025 due to declining customer traffic, rising labor costs, and inflation.

The company had already closed 77 underperforming locations across 24 states, including Arizona, Texas, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Its remaining 60 locations were still operating under the bankruptcy filing.

On the Border employed about 2,800 workers.

Clarification: This story originally indicated that all On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina locations were closing nationwide. However, five independent franchise locations were not affected by the closures.