A new Mexican restaurant called Vecinos, or “neighbors” in Spanish, is opening April 2023 at 366 5th St – a shady, residential block in the heart of Midtown.
“You would not believe the population density,” says owner Danny Yi, who has operated the Korean-Mexican-Southern barbecue fusion joint, Sokome, since 2016. “We’ve talked to neighbors and they’re very excited.”
Vecinos will not be a carbon copy of Sokome. “It will be more traditionally Mexican, with some Korean flair,” says Yi, who puts the mix at roughly 90% Mexican and 10% Korean. “For example, some of the meat options will be prepared using Korean techniques. Our beef will be Korean barbecue, while the pork will be a sweet-and-sour recipe.”
The new restaurant will open for dinner and weekend brunch in April, featuring signature margarita drinks. Vecinos will eventually serve lunch as well.
The flagship Sokome restaurant in downtown Atlanta closed to the public two years ago.
“Once COVID hit, most of the office workers got laid off or stayed home. The lunch crowds are beginning to come back, but it’s not the same,” says Yi.
“But I haven’t closed. The Marietta St location is still operating as a commercial kitchen. I’ve got two hibachi stations at the Mercedes Benz Stadium, events catering at the World Congress Center and America’s Mart, and do concepts and festivals all over Metro Atlanta.”
Vecinos’ new home has served up Latin cuisine to local residents for decades, most recently as Fifth Street Tapas. Prior to that, the cozy building and pleasant patio were operated by Urban Cannibals Bodega + Bites, which replaced Cruzado, which took over for long-standing Las Palmeras Cuban restaurant.
