Urban Kitchen Group, the hospitality collective led by restaurateur Tracy Borkum and chef partner Tim Kolanko, is preparing to open a new all-day restaurant concept in San Diego’s Bankers Hill neighborhood at 2550 Fifth Avenue, Suite 120.
The company’s new restaurant will move into the long vacant former home of Civico by the Park and Il Dandy, according to a press release. The approximately 5,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor project is expected to open in late 2027. It will sit directly across from UKG’s MICHELIN-recognized CUCINA urbana, which has operated in the neighborhood for more than 17 years. While details surrounding the concept’s name, menu, and design are still under wraps, customers can expect a new dining destination from one of San Diego’s most established hospitality groups.
The project marks a return to UKG’s roots in Bankers Hill, where much of the company’s growth has unfolded over the past two decades. Tracy Borkum, who also lives in the neighborhood, said the group has been searching for another opportunity in the area for years. The new restaurant arrives as Bankers Hill continues to evolve into one of San Diego’s strongest dining corridors, with several longtime hospitality operators investing in the neighborhood. Cowboy Star’s ownership team is preparing to open a new concept nearby, while Kitchens for Good recently announced plans for a culinary impact center in the area.
Urban Kitchen Group has played a major role in shaping San Diego’s modern dining scene over the last nearly three decades. Borkum’s concepts helped introduce a more layered approach to hospitality in the region by blending dining, wine, retail, and design-focused experiences. In 2009, UKG transformed the former Laurel Restaurant into CUCINA urbana, a move that helped redefine approachable neighborhood dining in San Diego during a pivotal period for the industry. Today, the company operates a portfolio of concepts across San Diego and Orange County, including CUCINA enoteca, ARTIFACT at Mingei, Gold Finch Modern Delicatessen, Morena Provisions, and Urban Kitchen at the Rady Shell.
Kolanko joined Urban Kitchen Group in 2019 and currently serves as Culinary Director and Chef Partner across several of the company’s concepts. He brings more than 30 years of culinary leadership experience, with a focus on ingredient-driven cooking and relationships with regional farmers and purveyors. His influence has helped shape the culinary direction of UKG’s evolving restaurant portfolio. This will be an excellent landing space for the group, considering the visibility of the Fifth and Laurel intersection and its longstanding ties to the neighborhood.
“Bankers Hill has been home for us for nearly two decades,” said Borkum in a press release. “We’ve watched this neighborhood continue to evolve into an exciting and growing dining destination within San Diego. Being able to help shape its next chapter from a corner like this, directly across from CUCINA urbana, is incredibly exciting for us. We’ve been searching for the right opportunity in the neighborhood for a long time, and there’s something especially rewarding about the opportunity to help reactivate this corner.”
