Very First On The Border Restaurant Is Closing in Dallas This Weekend

The original On The Border on Knox Street in Dallas — the historic site for a chain that's now grown to more than 150 restaurants — is closing and becoming an On The Border delivery and catering kitchen. When it reopens in late summer or early fall, customers will again be able to order Tex-Mex, in quantities large and small. But they won't be able to sit inside the restaurant and order items like queso, fajitas and a Borderita and stay a while.The restaurant opened 37 years ago on Knox Street. The company is headquartered in Irving.CEO Matt Hood said in a phone interview that the company "fought hard — very hard — to not close this restaurant." And technically, it won't close permanently: The restaurant will shutter Aug. 5, then reopen in its new catering capacity.It's one of the brand's most prominent catering locations, Hood said. His team is looking for a new piece of Dallas real estate to open an On The Border with a sit-down restaurant.The Knox Street restaurant's conversion into a catering and delivery kitchen is the first time On The Border is trying this model, Hood said. It's also a sign of the times, with new food delivery companies popping up in Dallas nearly every month.Part of the former On The Border store will become retail and residential space, the company said in a statement. That strip of Knox Street in Dallas has perpetually been under construction in the past few years. Around the corner from On The Border, a Trader Joe's opened on Cole Avenue alongside a nearly $40 million development with a six-story residential building. Across the street from On The Border, the Weir's Plaza development is underway, expected to be a 12-story building that houses a law firm and the coworking company WeWork. To commemorate the original On The Border's history and usher it into the delivery era, the restaurant is selling house margaritas for $1.82 on Aug. 3 and 4.The original On The Border is located at 3130 Knox St., Dallas.  Continue reading...