A Columbia restaurateur is planning a new Mexican spot in this popular neighborhood
Columbia restaurateur Steve Cook has long had a commitment to Five Points. Now he is set to make that commitment even deeper.
Cook and partners are planning to open a casual Mexican restaurant and bar at 819 Harden St. in Five Points. That’s right between Pawley’s Front Porch and Eddie’s Calzones. That location was most recently the home of Southern Belly BBQ, which closed in 2022.
Cook told The State Tuesday morning that he has signed a lease for the property and construction for the Mexican restaurant is slated to begin next week, with an opening date tentatively planned for spring 2024.
It won’t be the first foray into Five Points restaurant ownership for Cook. He has long owned Saluda’s, the fine dining establishment at 751 Saluda Ave. Outside Five Points, Cook also owns Il Bucato, the takeout pizza joint at 1615 N. Beltline Blvd.
“We’ve decided to do more of a casual Mexican concept,” Cook said. “I thought Five Points would be perfect for a little Mexican place that will be a lot bar, but certainly a lot restaurant, too. It will be kind of a more traditional Mexican place, kind of eschewing the sort of fusion that everybody is doing with that stuff now.”
The restaurateur said there is not yet a name for the coming Mexican restaurant, adding, “We are going to get in the space, build it out and let the name come to us. ... We want come up with something cool once we get in there and kind of let it speak to us.”
Aside from the coming Mexican spot, Cook said he’s also in the midst of developing another new restaurant in Five Points, but was not ready to release details about that project.
Andrew Thompson, the general manager at Saluda’s, is a partner on the Mexican restaurant project, Cook said.
Cook has long been a believer in Five Points, the more than century-old shopping, dining and nightlife village that has been enduringly popular with students from the University of South Carolina to its west and residents of the leafy nearby neighborhoods to its east. Aside from Saluda’s and his upcoming Five Points ventures, he also is the vice president of the neighborhood’s association for merchants.
“I truly believe in the location, between USC and some of the best neighborhoods in Columbia,” Cook said. “We’ve got a sweet little spot.”
Five Points is constantly evolving and reinventing itself, and there have continued to be changes recently. For instance, Ruby Sunshine, a New Orleans-based brunch chain, opened a new spot at 2030 Devine St., in the location that was previously home to Yesterdays Tavern for four decades. A new bookstore, All Good Books, opened its doors at 734 Harden in the spring. And Steve Taneyhill, the former USC quarterback and longtime owner of Group Therapy bar, opened the CB18 Bar and Grill at 810 Harden earlier this year.
This story was originally published November 14, 2023 at 11:20 AM.
