Since its abrupt, and apparently permanent, closure in mid-November, speculation about what happened to La Urbana—and what it will become—has been swirling like crushed ice in a margarita machine.

Now, we've caught wind of a potential new inhabitant of the white-hot piece of Divisadero real estate: Back of the House, the restaurant group behind a mini-empire of San Francisco restaurants, including Beretta, Delarosa, Starbelly, Super Duper Burger, and Uno Dos Tacos.

According to Jacob Cross, the company's VP of marketing and PR, the group is currently looking at several locations for their next concept, and La Urbana is one of them. However, nothing is finalized. 

The potential acquisition of La Urbana would add another item to the very full plate of Back of the House head honcho Adriano Paganini. In late November, he opened Flores, a Mexican spot in Cow Hollow's former Betelnut; just a month before that, he debuted The Bird, the first location of a potential fried-chicken chain, in the Financial District. He's also got plans in the works to expand the Castro's Super Duper location. 

There's no word on what the new restaurant's potential concept would be, but we'll keep you posted as we get more details.