‘It was a great ride’ — Mexican Restaurant in NJ Closes After 20 Years

A Mexican-inspired restaurant in the Garden State that has been serving absolutely delicious food for over two decades has closed its doors.

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The reason? If you guessed it was COVID-related, you would be correct.

To be more specific, COVID combined with rising costs for food and labor were too much for the owners of this eatery to overcome.

Before we reveal the actual restaurant, let's paint a picture about why this restaurant had a terrific 20-year run...

• GONE: Beloved Italian Market and Butcher Shop in NJ Closing After 45 Years

Sadly, within the past few days, The Tortilla Press in downtown Collingswood, Camden County, has closed its doors for good.

Husband-and-wife team Lydia Cipriani and Mark Smith opened the restaurant in the summer of 2002.

“It was a great ride for as long as it lasted,” Cipriani said to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

One of the mountains that restaurants in Collingswood have to climb is the fact that the city is dry, so they don't have the ability to sell alcoholic beverages.

However, if you are sad that The Tortilla Press has closed, here's some good news: the couple also owns Tortilla Press Cantina in Merchantville and that restaurant is remaining open. That establishment, which is right around the corner from the Cherry Hill Mall, has a liquor license.