"On The Border" Restaurants Tex-Mex Roots Run Deep
Can another Texas "Restaurant Family" save the troubled chain?
By now, you've probably heard that the "On The Border" Mexican Restaurant Chain is filing for bankruptcy and is preparing to be sold (possibly to the Pappas Restaurants Group, the owner of Pappasito’s Cantina, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen and other casual-dining brands).
While we wait to see who will inherit the chain's remaining 60 company-owned restaurants & 20 franchise operations around the country, let's take a deep dive into "On the Border's" Tex-Mex roots - which go way back.
In 1926, Adelaida “Mama” Cuellar, a sharecropper in Kaufman, Texas, supplemented her family of fourteen's meager income by selling homemade tamales at the Kaufman County Fair. The tamales were an instant hit, enabling the family to open a small cafe two years later.
In 1940, five Cuellar family brothers moved to Dallas and opened a restaurant they named "El Chico," which was an overnight success.
Soon, crowds were lined up outside, leading the family to open more restaurants in Dallas that eventually grew into the national El Chico Restaurant Chain.
In 1969 David Franklin joined El Chico as Vice-President and Legal Counsel right after the Cuellar family took it “public” and started selling company stock.
Franklin's major contribution to the company was to lead El Chico's Frozen Foods Division, which also grew into a national brand that offered a facsimile of "Tex-Mex" cuisine to Anglo families who were unable to visit the chain's restaurants.
We'll forgive him for that because of what eventually came next:
On October 29, 1982 - eight years after Franklin left El Chico - he opened the "On The Border - South Texas Cafe" at the corner of Knox and Travis streets in Dallas. The concept was built around three flavors familiar to anyone (like me) who grew up in South Texas: mesquite wood smoke, fajitas - and tequila.
"On the border of Texas and Mexico, between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers, rests 20 million acres of drylands where mesquite trees once grew in abundance. This mesquite flavor is infused in everything we fire up here at On The Border and has been part of our DNA since 1982." (Our Story @ ontheborder.com)
That first Dallas "South Texas Cafe" proved popular - with a lively patio scene that would soon serve as the launching point for what became the national chain known as "On The Border Mexican Grill and Cantina" that peaked at 150 restaurants in the United States (plus more than a half dozen more in South Korea).
Its sizzling fajitas, tableside guacamole preparation, and extensive margarita menu powered its growth as it moved into suburban Anglo communities for whom "Mexican Food" was still an exotic cuisine.
In 1994, "On The Border" was acquired by the parent company of "Chili's" (which also launched from a single restaurant in Dallas seven years before the first "On The Border" opened in that city).
"On The Border" was eventually sold to Private Equity Firms that initially reported strong growth - until Covid hit, driving diners away- from which it never recovered.
As part of its bankruptcy filing, the company told the court it had closed 77 restaurants in 44 states to reduce expenses. The company has requested permission from the court to terminate those leases and use the savings to keep it afloat until a buyer can be found for its remaining operations.
Meanwhile, the Cuellar Family - who set off the growth of "Tex-Mex" restaurants that swept the nation - ran a family restaurant in Dallas (known not as "El Chico" or "On the Border") - but as "Casa Rosa" - which, unfortunately, closed in 2024 after a multi-decade run.
As for "On the Border," the Houston-based Pappas Family - which owns the following restaurants - hopes to acquire the chain by establishing a bid as the leading "stalking horse" bidder in bankruptcy proceedings;
Pappas Brothers Steakhouse
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
Pappasito's Cantina
Pappas Bar-B-Q
Pappas Burger
Yia Yia Mary's Greek Kitchen
Pappas Seafood House
Dot Coffee Shop
Pappas Delta Blues Smokehouse
C&H Steakhouse
Pappas Pizza
Pappas Grill Steakhouse
Pappas Restaurant & Sports Bar
What's fascinating about this possible outcome is that - Pappas Restaurants - like the Cuellar family that influenced the founding of "On The Border" - can trace its roots back to a single family Texas restaurant (the Dot Coffee Shop established in 1967 on the Gulf Freeway in South Houston) which has since grown into a national juggernaut.
Here's to "OTB's" famous Margarita Menu living on!
Do you hope that “On the Border” continues to operate?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
