On the Border, a Mexican restaurant in South Portland, has closed.
The Texas-based owner of the chain said the restaurant closed due to unattractive terms for renewing its lease. The company is looking for another location with a plan to open a new restaurant next year, said Katie McMillan, the company’s property and facilities program manager, but no site has been selected.
The South Portland location, next to the Maine Mall, is the only On the Border restaurant in Maine.
It closed its doors Tuesday and an employee said workers were cleaning out the space Wednesday.
McMillan said about 50 people worked at the South Portland restaurant, which was one of the company’s highest-grossing in the Northeast. She said she didn’t know if the employees were offered any severance benefits.
The company can either build a new restaurant or renovate an existing building, McMillan said, depending on the site selected.
The company, located in Irving, Texas, owns about 125 On the Border restaurants and has about 25 operating as franchises.
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