On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is a chain of

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

food

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while catego ...

restaurants located in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. The chain and brand name is owned by Argonne Capital Group.

History

The first On The Border location opened on October 29, 1982 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. On March 3, 2009, the chain lost its wholly owned subsidiary designation when it was merged into

Brinker International Brinker International, Inc. (or simply Brinker) is an American multinational hospitality industry company that owns Chili's and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant chains. Founded in 1975 and based in Dallas, Texas, Brinker currently owns, opera ...

as a company brand. In 2010, Brinker International sold On the Border to

Golden Gate Capital Golden Gate Capital is an American private equity firm based in San Francisco. The firm makes investments in a number of select industries, including technology, financial services, retail and industrial, through leveraged buyout transactions, as ...

. OTB Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital, announced that it had completed its acquisition of On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina from Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT). On April 24, 2014, the chain was once again sold to another private equity firm by the name of Argonne Capital Group.

Restaurants

The chain operates over 150 restaurants within the

and thirteen locations (7 stores in Seoul, Bucheon, Goyang, Hanam, Suwon, Daejeon and Busan) in

Products

The restaurant is known for its selection of

fajitas A fajita (; ), in Tex-Mex cuisine, is any stripped grilled meat with stripped peppers and onions usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. The term originally referred to skirt steak, the cut of beef first used in the dish. Popular alternativ ...

and wide selection of

margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). ...

s. It is also known for "Guacamole Live," the preparation of fresh guacamole tableside.

Criticism

For several consecutive years, ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

'' rated On the Border as one of the unhealthiest chains on its annual "Restaurant Report Card." In 2010, the magazine named On the Border the worst chain in its Mexican category, noting that an enchilada meal contained over 1,600 calories, and desserts typically contained over 1,000 calories each.

References

Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants in Dallas Mexican restaurants Companies based in Dallas Restaurants established in 1982 1982 establishments in Texas 2010 mergers and acquisitions 2014 mergers and acquisitions Mexican restaurants in the United States {{US-restaurant-stub