On the Border, a Texas-based Mexican restaurant chain, has abruptly closed its single Vancouver location amid a swirl of legal claims against the restaurant’s franchise owners over unpaid rent and taxes.
The closure of the restaurant at 1505 S.E. 164th Ave. apparently was sparked by a three-day eviction notice served to restaurant operators Sept. 15 for unpaid rent and taxes. The notice was included in a lawsuit filed Sept. 23 in Clark County Superior Court seeking $12,666 in overdue rent payment and $33,092 in unpaid taxes.
The restaurant closed after the eviction notice was served and before the court filing, said Josephine Townsend, a Vancouver attorney representing property owner Vancouver Border LLC, a Washington-based corporation affiliated with Farmers & Merchants Bank. The Long Beach, Calif.-based bank acquired the property through a foreclosure in 2009, according to court documents. The bank had no comment.
Court records list the restaurant operator as Washington-based Vanborder Partners LLC. Tax documents from the Washington State Department of Revenue list an address in Irvine, Calif., that appears to be in a shopping mall. An operator’s representative could not be reached. On the Border, based in Irving, Texas, did not respond to a request for comment.
The site is being marketed by Kidder Mathews. Ryan O’Leary, a company vice president listed as one of the property brokers, said the 6,300-square-foot building in the Fisher’s Landing Plaza is well-located with high visibility, a traffic signal, and a free-standing building with parking.
On the Border made news in October 2012 following an outbreak of salmonella tied to the restaurant. The restaurant closed at the request of Clark County Public Health and remained shuttered for a week. In the end, the county estimated that 121 people were sickened by the outbreak, including 41 confirmed cases and 80 cases of likely salmonella poisoning.
Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County public health officer, said he could not speculate on how that outbreak might have affected the restaurant’s finances.
“Obviously, it’s not good news for a restaurant to have an outbreak associated with it,” he said. “It’s tough whenever this happens because it’s a business in our community, and people work there. We only do this when we have to.”
What’s clear is that the restaurant struggled financially in recent years.
Washington Department of Revenue records indicate that Vanborder Partners LLC fell behind on tax payments twice in 2013. The state issued a warrant in January of this year for $24,035 in unpaid taxes and penalties for the period of September and October 2013. It issued a second warrant In February for $12,249 in unpaid taxes and penalties from November 2013. State records note that Vanborder Partners paid both in full, in June and August of this year.
Deborah Ewing, vice president and managing broker for Eric Fuller & Associates, said she had no specific knowledge about the restaurant’s financial performance. But in general terms, she said it can be difficult for national chains to break into new markets with a single restaurant. Locally, On the Border operates a restaurant in Hillsboro, Ore.
Ewing also noted that the area has numerous options for Mexican food, and that people continue to dine out less often than before the recession. “We still have not fully recovered,” she said.
Editor’s note: This story was changed to reflect that the nearest On the Border is in Hillsboro, Ore.
Paris Achen of The Columbian contributed to this story.
