Winter Park-based Tijuana Flats closes 10 Florida stores following bankruptcy filing

Winter Park-based Tex-Mex chain Tijuana Flats has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will close 11 of its stores, 10 of which are in Florida, according to a announcement from the chain.

In the April 19 release, the brand, which has more than 90 stores across the southeast, announced it has been acquired by new ownership group Flatheads, LLC.

According to Flatheads, the brand is at a "critical juncture" and "immediate action was needed to preserve the organization."

The company said it chose which stores would be closed based on financial performance, occupancy costs and market conditions. The shuttered locations include one Virginia store and 10 in Florida, encompassing locations in Orlando,  Tampa, Jacksonville and Boynton Beach.

Flatheads, LLC acquired the company with plans of "revitalizing its restaurants and reinvigorating the customer experience." Chief Executive Officer Joe Christina, who joined Tijuana Flats in 2022, will remain CEO throughout the change.

"Our company is excited by the new ownership group’s plan to reinvest, focus, and emphasize the things that originally brought so many people to love Tijuana Flats," Christina. "We understand the immediate financial actions taken by them to ensure the long-term health of this great and iconic brand."

The company has not yet announced a complete list of which specific Tijuana Flats locations have closed.

Tijuana Flats was founded in 1995 in Winter Park by University of Central Florida alumnus Brian Wheeler, who sold in 2015 after building the restaurant concept into a well-known chain. In 2011, Wheeler founded Central Florida's Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen, and recently launched another Tex-Mex concept, Big Taco, with his sons Jake and Gavin.

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