{"id":820030,"date":"2026-05-25T01:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/820030\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T01:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T01:00:20","slug":"urban-kitchen-group-new-restaurant-project-in-bankers-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/820030\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Kitchen Group New Restaurant Project in Bankers Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tracy Borkum and chef-partner Tim Kolanko of Urban Kitchen Group are bringing a new all-day restaurant concept to Bankers Hill. The approximately 5,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor space sits at Fifth Avenue and Laurel Street \u2013 directly across from their Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognized CUCINA urbana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The corner has been vacant since the closures of Civico by the Park and Il Dandy, and having Urban Kitchen Group bring it back to life is a welcome development for Bankers Hill.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Cucina-Urbana-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Tracy Borkum and Tim Kolanko of Urban Kitchen Group\" class=\"wp-image-86244\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>A Return to Where it All Started<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Borkum, a longtime Bankers Hill resident, this project is personal. The details \u2013 name, culinary direction, and design \u2013 are still being kept close to the chest, but an anticipated opening in late 2027 gives the team time to get it right. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Urban Kitchen Group has deep roots here, and the new concept represents a meaningful next chapter for a team that has watched Bankers Hill evolve into one of San Diego\u2019s strongest dining corridors.<\/p>\n<p>What They\u2019re Bringing to the Table<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Borkum has spent nearly three decades shaping San Diego\u2019s dining scene, most notably with her 2009 transformation of the former Laurel restaurant into CUCINA urbana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, Urban Kitchen Group spans a portfolio of acclaimed concepts including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbankitchengroup.com\/cucina-enoteca-irvine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">CUCINA enoteca<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbankitchengroup.com\/thekitchenatmcasd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Kitchen at MCASD La Jolla<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbankitchengroup.com\/artifact-at-mingei\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">ARTIFACT at Mingei<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbankitchengroup.com\/goldfinch-deli\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Gold Finch Modern Delicatessen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbankitchengroup.com\/morena-provisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Morena Provisions<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theshell.org\/plan-your-visit\/food-and-drink\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Urban Kitchen at the Rady Shell<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Cucina-Urbana-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-86237\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kolanko brings over 30 years of culinary leadership to the project, with an ingredient-driven philosophy and deep relationships with regional farmers and purveyors that have long shaped the group\u2019s culinary identity.<\/p>\n<p>A Neighborhood on the Rise<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new UKG project is one of several notable developments taking shape in Bankers Hill. The team behind Cowboy Star will soon open a new restaurant nearby, and Kitchens for Good has announced a culinary impact center in the neighborhood. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Together, these investments signal that Bankers Hill\u2019s dining scene is very much still in motion.<\/p>\n<p>See you there!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Details are still forthcoming, but this is one to watch. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udccd 505 Laurel Street, San Diego<br \/>\u2139\ufe0f See what\u2019s coming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbankitchengroup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See you there, San Diego!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tracy Borkum and chef-partner Tim Kolanko of Urban Kitchen Group are bringing a new all-day restaurant concept to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":820031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,323113,3549,41033,15651,230347,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,15736],"class_list":["post-820030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-restaurant-opening","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-dining","tag-san-diego-food-scene","tag-san-diego-restaurant-scene","tag-sandiego","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-where-to-eat-in-san-diego"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116632513999900321","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}