Tijuana Flats closes four Tampa Bay locations following bankruptcy filing

If you’re wondering what happened to your favorite Tijuana Flats, the chain’s parent company recently spilled the beans.

On April 19, Tijuana Flats announced that it has closed 11 stores in the past week, including four Tampa Bay locations. The company chose which stores would be shuttered based on financial performance, occupancy costs and market conditions, according to a press release .

Four stores in Jacksonville were also closed in February prior to an ownership change this month that saw the Central Florida-based company switch hands from TJF USA, LLC to Flatheads, LLC.

The release said Tijuana Flats has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Chief Executive Officer Joe Christina joined the company in November 2022, and will remain CEO through the ownership 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 said in a press release.

The restaurant changed its menu up in 2021 which ended up being a financial failure, according to court documents obtained by Restaurant Business , and rolled out another new menu effective April 1 including changes like new packaging for take-out and delivery.

The four Tampa Bay Tijuana Flats that have already closed include stores in South Tampa, New Tampa and Westchase, as well as one in Sarasota.

• 4027 S Dale Mabry Hwy.
• 9250 W Linebaugh, Ave.
• 17501 Preserve Walk Ln., Unit 103
• 1635 S Tamiami Trail Sarasota

Tampa Bay is still home to at least a dozen Tijuana Flats that are still open.

The restaurant was first opened in Winter Park by University of Central Florida student Brian Wheeler in 1995, who owned the chain until 2015. Tijuana Flats has since expanded to Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee.

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