My wife and I have more than a dozen Mexican restaurants within three miles of our South Florida home. There’s everything from a nice local sit-down chain to taco trucks, informal taquerias, a few bodegas that also have food menus, and two separate variations of Tacos Al Carbon, another locally owned chain.
That doesn’t count all of the sports bars and chain restaurants that offer fajitas, tacos, nachos, and other Mexican favorites.
And while my city might have slightly more Mexican options than the average, competition in this space has been fierce. That has contributed to On The Border filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closing all its restaurants. Several other chains, including Guzman y Gomez, which closed all its U.S. locations, Tito’s Burritos & Wings, and Acapulco, had significant closures.
It’s a very competitive market, and that has put Condado Tacos in a challenging position, where it has closed restaurants in multiple locations.
Mexican restaurants face intense competition
While competition has been intense, Mexican restaurants have grown their overall market share from 6.1% in 2015 to 7.7% in 2025, according to an analysis of Technomic data.
Eleven percent of restaurants in the United States serve Mexican food, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from SafeGraph, which curates information about millions of places of interest around the globe, and the user review site Yelp.
And although Texas and California have the most Mexican restaurants, most of the United States has access to the cuisine.
“This analysis finds that 85% of U.S. counties have at least one Mexican restaurant. In turn, the counties that don’t have Mexican restaurants tend to have small populations. The 15% of counties without any Mexican restaurants have about 4 million people living in them. That is just 1% of the total U.S. population,” according to Pew Research.
In addition to intense competition, Mexican restaurants have suffered from the same woes that have hit much of the industry.
In more than three decades covering restaurants, I’ve rarely seen operators face a combination of elevated costs, cautious consumers, and economic uncertainty at the same time.
“Survey data shows that three out of 10 Americans have reduced their spending at retail stores and are dining out at restaurants less frequently than a year ago,” according to an S&P Global Data report.
A number of Mexican restaurants have closed locations or shut down entirely.Oscar Wong / Getty Images
Condado Tacos denied it was having problems
In January, Condado Tacos laid off a number of its corporate staff.
“We recently made the difficult decision to right-size our Support Center team to operate more efficiently, better positioning the business for long-term success,” said CEO Derrick Pratt in a statement provided to 614NOW. “Condado continues to be a healthy, growing brand with no restaurant closures since our founding.”
It was not long after that statement that the closures began. As part of a wave of closures, the chain left South Carolina in August.
“The Greenville restaurant that once brought build-your-own tacos and hand-painted Upstate murals to Magnolia Park has closed for good, and now its landlord is suing to collect more than $51,000 in back rent. Court filings allege Condado Tacos stopped paying its minimum rent and other required charges starting in April 2026, months before the Woodruff Road location shut its doors,” Hoodline reported.
It was a situation that escalated quickly.
Magnolia Park Greenville sued on June 30, 2026 naming both the restaurant’s LLC and its parent, Revolucion Holding, according to WSPA 7News.
Its other South Carolina restaurant, in Mount Pleasant, closed Aug. 29, 2026 nine days after its landlord moved to evict, according to The Post and Courier.
Both shutdowns are part of a recent pattern.
Condado Tacos has closed multiple locations
The Condado website shows 49 locations remaining across nine states.
Condado Tacos has closed multiple restaurants in 2026, including locations in Mountain Brook, Alabama; Broad Ripple in Indianapolis; and south Charlotte, according to BizJournals.
The Mountain Brook, Alabama, location closed after about three years in business, added BizJournals.
Condado’s Broad Ripple restaurant was its original Indianapolis-area location and has permanently closed, according to Hoodline.
The chain’s south Charlotte restaurant has permanently closed. Court documents show the landlord is seeking more than $79,000 in past-due rent and other lease charges, reported BizJournals.
Condado also closed its Powell, Ohio, carryout-only location in 2024, added BizJournals.
Condado Tacos underwent a corporate restructuring in January 2026 that included layoffs. The company confirmed the layoffs but did not disclose the number of positions eliminated.
Many other Mexican chains have struggled
Prices have played a large role in keeping Americans away from restaurants.
“Consumer prices for food away from home increased 39.3% from January 2019 to January 2026. By comparison, the index increased 19.2% across the previous seven years, from January 2012 to January 2019,” according to another S&P Global Data report.
On The Border: The chain closed all locations before its operating company, OTB Hospitality, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on June 19, 2026; franchised units in South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, California, and South Korea kept operating, Yahoo Finance reported.
Gringos Locos: The Orlando-based Tex-Mex chain, founded in 2009, closed all its Orlando-area restaurants with no public explanation, according to TheStreet.
Tito’s Burritos & Wings: Closed all three remaining New Jersey locations (Summit, Ridgewood, and South Orange) after dinner service on March 1, without a bankruptcy filing, reported CBInsights.
Mexican chains that have shrunk
Acapulco had as many as 39 locations; the Glendale, Calif., closure would leave only Long Beach, according to TheStreet.
After community backlash, Glendale reversed course and said it will stay open until further notice, added Art Voice.
El Torito: It once operated 187 restaurants in 25 states; now it is down to roughly two dozen, all in California, reported TheStreet.
Salt and Lime: Its Arizona parent filed Chapter 11 on Aug. 20, 2026, its third affiliate case this year after two dismissals, according to Yahoo Finance.
Some Mexican franchised restaurants have closed
Moe’s Southwest Grill: Franchisee Quality Fresca filed Chapter 11 Aug. 4, seeking to exit 16 leases, mostly in Florida; it had 38 stores, down from 69 in 2021, reported Fast Company.
Del Taco: Bankrupt franchisee Matadoor closed all 14 Georgia restaurants in late February. The chain’s footprint fell from 594 in 2024 to about 558, according to Restaurant Dive.
Healthy Mexican chains trimming locations
Torchy’s Tacos: Closed four stores Feb. 3, exiting Columbus, Ohio, plus Altamonte Springs and Winter Garden, Fla., according to CBInsights.
Chuy’s (Darden): The Sterling, Va., location closed Jan. 11, and Midtown Nashville closed March 27, reported The BurnWSMV.
Pappasito’s: Pappas is closing the 1983 original on Richmond Ave. in Houston on Sept. 13, according to Yahoo Finance.
Fuzzy’s Tacos: Closed all remaining Houston-area restaurants in September 2026, added Yahoo Finance.
Related: Kroger pulls a gas perk as pump prices set a September record