Florida-based Tijuana Flats closing 11 restaurants, files for bankruptcy

Tijuana Flats files for bankruptcy, closing 11 locations

Tijuana Flats, a restaurant company based out of Central Florida, has announced it is filing for bankruptcy and is closing 11 of its locations.

Central Florida-based restaurant Tijuana Flats has announced not only the closure of 11 of its restaurants but its filing for bankruptcy, according to a news release.

The Tex-Mex brand has ushered in new ownership with a plan of "revitalizing its restaurants and reinvigorating the customer experience."

In addition to the new ownership under Flatheads LLC, the company also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has closed 11 stores as of last week.

CEO Joe Christina, who joined the brand in November 2022, will remain as CEO.

A Mexican style pizza from Tex-Mex food in Tijuana Flats. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The decision was made following a strategic review that started in November 2023 by the company's executives, the release states.

The company has not yet announced which of its 11 restaurants will be closing.

Tijuana Flats opened its first store in Winter Park in 1995 by founder Brian Wheeler. Since then, the company has grown to 123 restaurants in four states.