Tijuana Flats Closes South Florida Locations After Bankruptcy Filing

Central Florida-based Mexican restaurant chain Tijuana Flats closes nine South Florida restaurants after filing for bankruptcy.

By Nicole Lopez-Alvar

April 23, 2024

Tijuana Flats has closed 11 of its stores. Courtesy of Tijuana Flats

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Central Florida-based restaurant Tijuana Flats has announced it is filing for bankruptcy and has closed 11 of its restaurants, including a whopping nine of them in South Florida.

According to a press release, the Tex-Mex brand has brought in new ownership, Flatheads LLC, with a plan of "revitalizing its restaurants and reinvigorating the customer experience." The release notes "financial performance, occupancy costs, and market conditions" as reasons for its closing of restaurants and bankruptcy filing.

Tijuana Flats' CEO, Joe Christina, who joined the brand in November 2022, will remain.

Eleven restaurants closed in total last week. Of the 11, nine were in South Florida:

20401 State Rd. 7, West Boca Raton
390 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach
6970 State Rd. 7, Coconut Creek
1619 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
14633 Miramar Pkwy., Miramar
5065 Old Dixie Hwy., Oakland Park
1371 S. University Drive, Plantation
431 S. Federal Hwy., Pompano Beach
2089 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach

As of April 23, 91 of Tijuana's restaurant locations remain open and are expected to do so going forward.

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A post shared by Tijuana Flats (@tijuanaflats)

According to the press release, the decision was made following a strategic review that began in November 2023 by the company's executives.

Tijuana Flats' founder, Brian Wheeler, opened its first store in Winter Park in 1995. Since then, the company has expanded to four states.

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Nicole Lopez-Alvar is the food editor of Miami New Times, a position she has been honored to take on since December 2023. Prior to her work at Miami New Times, she was a digital journalist covering breaking news, restaurants, arts, and culture at WPLG Local 10 News and WSVN 7 News. When she’s not writing about restaurants and chefs for her day job, Nicole can be found blogging about food on her personal Instagram account. Nicole received a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication degree from the University of Miami where she studied broadcast journalism. Readers might have also seen her on the 23rd season of ABC's The Bachelor and the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise.

Contact: Nicole Lopez-Alvar

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