This new restaurant is coming near a popular Columbia music venue. What we know
A well-known local Mexican restaurant chain is prepping a new location near one of Columbia’s key music and entertainment venues.
A San Jose Jr. restaurant is planned for 1616 Taylor St. in downtown Columbia, less than a block away from the Township Auditorium. Signage for the Mexican restaurant recently went up at the site. There is a building permit in the window, issued earlier this month, noting the coming construction of a concrete pad for a new freezer and cooler, and a canopy planned for the front of the building.
An opening date for the Taylor Street San Jose Jr. has not been publicly announced. The building at 1616 Taylor St. was formerly home to The Deli Say No More.
San Jose is an instantly recognizable name on the Midlands Mexican restaurant scene. The company has 18 restaurants across the region. Many of them are classic, table service casual dining restaurants, though it also has some express locations, such as the one at the Hendrix Crossing shopping center in Lexington. San Jose also has a waterfront location on Lake Murray that opened in late 2023.
New Mexican restaurants continue to proliferate across the Midlands. For example, a new Que! Bueno restaurant recently debuted at 4420 Devine St. and Que! Bueno is prepping a spot at 1467 Sumter St. Meanwhile, Na’cho Margarita, which already has a location at Lake Murray, is planning a new spot at 712 W. Main St. near downtown Lexington. And Tacos Nayarit, which has long had a popular spot on Percival Road, opened a new Cayce location in April.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 11:30 AM.
