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Tijuana Flats closed nine South Florida restaurants in the days and weeks before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday.

The company, a fast-casual provider of Tex-Mex dishes like tacos, burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas and flautas, announced the filing on Friday in a news release. It also announced that a new ownership group had taken control of the company “with a plan of revitalizing its restaurants and reinvigorating the customer experience.”

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing allows a company to restructure its operation while discharging existing debt. Tijuana Flats’ filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Orlando, stated that the company had assets of between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million.

Friday’s news release stated that 11 of the company’s restaurants were closed last week. The sale and bankruptcy filing, the release said, resulted from a “strategic review” that began last November. The company explored various options including a potential sale. read more

By Jae Bratton | NerdWallet

Conversations about money often require sensitivity and patience, especially when the person across the table is an older parent.

Some of us won’t need — or want — to get involved in someone else’s finances. But others may have to take an active role in helping an older parent manage their money. If that’s the case for you, don’t neglect a discussion about credit. Good credit matters throughout life, so any conversation you have with a parent should focus on building and maintaining healthy credit.

Here are five credit-related questions to ask older parents if you don’t know where to begin.

1. What’s your credit score?

Good credit scores can create opportunities and unlock lower interest rates, and they still matter even as we age. Maybe your parent wants to downsize to a new home or settle in a retirement community; having a good score can be advantageous in both scenarios.

Free credit scores are available from personal finance websites, credit card issuers and other financial institutions. read more

The Hall on the Yard in Ivanhoe Village, one of Orlando’s largest food halls, has abruptly closed as it faces a lawsuit over unpaid rent.

Ivanhoe Place Propco LLC filed a lawsuit on April 15 alleging that the food hall owes nearly $250,000 in back rent plus utilities. The suit asked the tenants to be evicted from the property at 1412 Alden Road in the neighborhood just north of downtown.

The Hall on the Yard has not made an official announcement but “permanently closed” signs were posted on the doors. The Orlando Bungalower first reported the closure.

The 12,500-square-foot food hall opened in November 2021 and featured nine restaurants offering cuisine from Italian to Japanese fusion, three cocktail bars and five event spaces.

One of the eateries, Shay’s Kitchen, posted on Facebook that it was unexpectedly given a five-day notice to vacate. It is now looking for a new location.

“Shay’s Kitchen has fulfilled all of its financial obligations to date,” the post read. “The issues at hand are entirely beyond our control or involvement.” read more

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently reserved and paid for a room at the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse at Custom House, Boston, through Booking.com. I prepaid $1,191 for my accommodations.

I received a confirmation that I had booked a room at the property and that I had paid for it. However, when we checked out, my husband paid for the room again — not realizing that I had already paid for the hotel through Booking.com. We received an email invoice from the hotel and left the Marriott property, not realizing we had paid for our stay twice.

I contacted Booking.com straight away, but I don’t have a record of our interaction. Booking.com deleted all the messages relating to my inquiry. Marriott has referred the matter to Booking.com, and Booking.com will not help me. Is there anything you can do?

— Valeska Wehr, Bute, Australia

ANSWER: Booking.com should have charged you once, and Marriott shouldn’t have charged you at all. I know — thank you, Captain Obvious. But it merits repeating. I’ve reviewed your paperwork, and you should have only received one charge. read more

Central Florida-based Tijuana Flats announced that it has been acquired by a new ownership group, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that it had closed 11 restaurants.

The changes, revealed Friday, mark a new chapter for the Winter Park-based Tex-Mex chain which was founded nearly 30 years ago by former UCF student Brian Wheeler. The company had 65 company-owned locations throughout Florida, along with 26 franchised restaurants located in Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

The new ownership group is listed as Flatheads, LLC.

Joe Christina, Chief Executive Officer of Tijuana Flats, said, “Our company is excited by the new ownership group’s plan to reinvest, focus, and emphasize the things that originally brought so many people to love Tijuana Flats. We understand the immediate financial actions taken by them to ensure the long-term health of this great and iconic brand.”

Christina became Tijuana Flats’ CEO in October 2022, after previously serving as CEO of Church’s Texas Chicken. read more