After only one year of operation the Jose Tejas restaurant in Mount Laurel has announced they have closed immediately. Additionally the Mexican Food Factory in Marlton closed at the end of the year, and a dispensary is taking over the property. And now we have learned TGI Fridays in Marlton is also closed!
That is three big losses for the area, just miles apart!
The news of Jose Tejas Mt Laurel closing was a complete surprise to everyone including the staff, who according to posts at the popular South Jersey Food Scene Facebook Group, received the news this morning. Additional posts at South Jersey Food Scene brought out the news of TGIFridays Marlton Closing.
Facebook page A View From Evesham was also a first reporter on the Jose Tejas news.
For the Mexican Food Factory the closing just a few days ago was not an abrupt surprise as they had been involved in a many months plan to sell the property to a dispensary. This news made it out into the public earlier in 2023 and in the summer the management of Mexican Food Factory had addressed the potential sale and closing on Facebook.
Jose Tejas Mount Laurel
42Freeway first wrote about Jose Tejas coming to Mount Laurel back in January of 2020, although it seems like they had actually started the process well before 2020.
With the challenges of COVID impacting construction, Jose Tejas finally opened in Mount Laurel at the end of December 2022… just one year ago!
I stopped in at the beginning of January 2023 about a week after opening, to write an experience post on the all new Tex-Mex restaurant.
The location for the Jose Tejas Mount Laurel restaurant is on Route 73 at Crawford place, next to the Hampton inn hotel.
This morning employees were notified by phone that the restaurant would not reopen. Several of the employees posted the news on facebook groups (including South Jersey Food Scene)
Jose Tejas then updated their website to give a closing message, next to listing of the Mount Laurel location.
“After great consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close our Mt. Laurel, NJ location effective January 2, 2024. We want to thank all of our wonderful guests and team members for supporting us over this past year. We have enjoyed the opportunity to serve the community and hope to see you again in our Woodbridge, NJ or Christiana, DE locations.”
Jose Tejas Statement on the closing of the Mount Laurel Location after one year of operating
At this time there is really no information as to why they closed after a year.
Online comments from former employees also didn’t have any solid indication as to the reasoning.
Overall this news has mostly come as a surprise to many as the Jose Tejas Mount Laurel location was a significant investment and rebuild to convert it from its original Chili’s restaurant usage into the Jose Tejas branded look and feel. (Chili’s is still open on Rt 73, but at a different location)
The Jose Tejas Massachusetts based restaurant group still operates five other locations under Jose Tejas or the Border Cafe. They are directing customers from South Jersey to consider their Christiana DE or Woodbridge NJ restaurants.
Mexican Food Factory – Marlton
The Mexican Food Factory was the longest continuously operating eatery in Evesham, operating since 1979.
In fact, in the mid 80s I was a regular customer at the Mexican Food Factory as I worked at Yorkship Business Supply on Springdale Road and Mexican Food Factory was one of the office’s favorite places for lunch. We would alternate between the Mexican Food Factory and Casa Lupita on Route 73 in Mount Laurel!
The news of Mexican Food Factory in Marlton closing was known months in advance, as a dispensary was looking to purchase the property and turn it into a retail cannabis store.
Updated: When I originally published this article earlier today I had incorrectly stated the dispensary was presented and approved. This is not the case, and I’ve updated the article.
Back in June of 2023, with rumors swirling… the official Mexican Food Factory Facebook page put up a status of the restaurant, stating that at the time they were 100% open but they did go on to clearly state they had been approached by cannabis dispensary company who was looking to take over the property/building.
The Mexican Food Factory was been a local family owned restaurant since 1979. We love being a part of the local community and have served multiple generations of families and friends throughout the years. As well as having hosted countless birthdays, graduations, engagements, retirements, first dates, etc. etc. etc. for the past 44 years. There are a lot of people who are alive today because their parents or grandparents met at the MFF! This is part of the pride we have in serving our customers.
As always, we thank you for all the years of loyalty!
June 2023 Status Update from the Mexican Food Factory on their Sale/Closing
Evesham has provided a letter of support for the dispensary at the Rt 70 property, but those plans have not been formally submitted.
This surrounding area has also lost the Marlton Diner and the Sage Diner (Mount Laurel) to plans for new cannabis dispensaries!
On December 30th the Mexican food factory put up their last Facebook/Instagram post
Thank you for your patronage, friendship, and the memories you made with us.
Mexican Food Factory 1979-2023
Mexican Food Factory, Last Social Media Post at their closing just days ago.
TGIFridays Marlton
TGIFridays Marlton is located in the Greentree Square Shopping Center on Rt 73… where Whole Foods is also located.
The well known national chain restaurant has several locations in South Jersey, but it appears on this Marlton location has closed.
News of this closing first appeared by a member at South Jersey Food Scene. Further online research shows the Marlton location has been removed from the TGIFriday location website, online ordering at the menu page is disabled… and Google has marked the location as closed.
