Need A Sombrero? Less Than 48 Hours After Closing, Don Pablo’s To Be Auctioned Off

Less than 48 hours after closing its doors, Don Pablo’s is up for auction. Well at least the stuff inside. The remaining assets will be offered to the general public through a strategic partnership with Auction Nation, a national online auction company.

Don Pablo’s has been a local favorite in Newark for many years, and has closed abruptly to accommodate the end of their lease, says Mats Myhre, a spokesperson for Auction Nation.

“It is sad to see this location close its doors since so many local patrons have been coming here for years.” added Myhre.

Myhre said Auction Nation is contracted with Food Management Partners, the parent company of Don Pablo’s, to liquidate assets for them whenever a restaurant is closed down.

“This is an amazing opportunity not only for people in the restaurant industry, but for patrons and the general public alike to bid on and purchase the assets from Don Pablo’s”.

This was the last location in Delaware and all remaining assets will be auctioned off in an online auction through the website www.AuctionNation.com with preview available before the auction closes.

“The restaurant contains everything from kitchen equipment and smallwares to furniture and decor.” says Chris Rushford, Auction Manager.

“To be able to bid on the entire Don Pablo’s in Newark is an amazing opportunity for anyone in the restaurant business!”

All bidding will take place on the AuctionNation.com website and is online now through Friday, September 28th, at 12 pm ET. Registration is free, open to the public and only takes a few minutes.

Preview is available on Friday 9/28 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.. For full details and a complete schedule of the Newark Don Pablo’s Liquidation Auction visit www.AuctionNation.com.

Myhre said the company is uploading the inventory to the auction software at this time. The auction is going to be live shortly.

Original Story

Your Tex-Mex options in Delaware just became fewer. Don Pablo’s, famous for its onsite handmade flour tortillas and piping hot Mexican food, has closed its only Delaware location, according to a woman answering the phone.

This chain of Tex-Mex restaurants was started by Texas-based DF&R Restaurants Inc. in 1985. After a period of rapid growth throughout the state of Texas, Don Pablo’s began to build new locations in the Midwest. By 1995, DF&R had 51 Don Pablo’s locations.

At one time in their history over 100 Don Pablo’s locations were open across the country. After several acquisitions, sell-offs and a couple of bankruptcies the brand was down to 8 locations. In April the Grand Prairie, Texas location quietly closed its doors and in July 2018, the Norwood, Ohio location closed its doors, leaving 6 units open in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas.

When the Newark Don Pablo’s closed its doors for the final time last night at 10:00 that number dwindled to 5.

The closing, also confirm by a manager at a different location out of state, reportedly came as a shock to customers and employees alike.

Several people have taken to social media to say that the store closed without warning and employees were not informed of the closing. That has not been confirmed.

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First State Update's Delaware editorial team covers New Castle County, Kent County and Sussex County breaking news, political news, and general news stories. We bring the reader the latest news from the Wilmington, Newark, Dover, Rehoboth Beach and all point in between. If you have news to share, email us at [email protected].

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