Guzman y Gomez , an Australian-based Mexican restaurant chain that debuted in the United States in 2020, has closed all of its locations as it exits the American market.

The company posted a note on the American version of its website on May 22 that reads: "All GYG USA restaurants permanently closed. Effective May 22nd, GYG USA restaurants will cease trading. Thank you for your support."

According to reporting from Nation's Restaurant News , the chain debuted in the U.S. in Naperville, Illinois in 2020 and expanded in the years following to other Chicago-area neighborhoods such as Evanston, Deerfield, Crystal Lake and Buffalo Grove, among other locations.

"After six years of burritos and big dreams in Chicagoland, we've made the difficult decision to close our U.S. restaurants," the Guzman y Gomez website reads. "To every guest who came through our doors -- you chose us, and we never took that for granted."

Guzman y Gomez did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for comment.

Report: Founder says success in US would take 'more time and capital'

Business News Australia reports that Guzman y Gomez founder and co-CEO Steven Marks said the company invested in product innovation, service improvements and marketing initiatives in the U.S., but the returns had not materialized.

"I have always been confident in the differentiation of our food and guest experience, however this was not translating to an improvement in sales momentum," Marks said, according to Business News Australia. "Having spent the last three months in the U.S., I realized this was going to take significantly more time and capital than we had expected."

Marks said the exit will allow the company to refocus resources toward its core Australian business. The company currently operates about 240 locations in Australia and about 30 locations in Singapore and Japan.

In 2023, Marks said Guzman y Gomez had the ambitious goal of becoming the number one fast food company in the world as it slowly expanded into the U.S., according to Nation's Restaurant News.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Guzman y Gomez Mexican restaurant chain closes all US locations