Bankers Hill is getting a fresh shot of all-day dining, courtesy of one of San Diego’s most familiar restaurant players. Tracy Borkum’s Urban Kitchen Group has inked a deal for a nearly 5,000-square-foot space at 2550 Fifth Avenue, with plans for an all-day restaurant slated for late 2027. The project will become the group’s second permanent outpost in Bankers Hill, alongside its long-running Cucina Urbana, and is being framed as a sign of a new chapter for downtown-area dining.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Borkum and executive chef Tim Kolanko have signed a lease for Unit 120 in the Manchester Financial building, a ground-floor space that previously housed Civico by the Park and Il Dandy. The paper reports the restaurant footprint at nearly 5,000 square feet and notes that broker Pasquale Ioele represented the landlord in negotiations. While company and city approvals will ultimately dictate the schedule, Urban Kitchen Group is currently eyeing a late-2027 opening for the new concept.
Urban Kitchen Group’s footprint across the county
Urban Kitchen Group is already woven into several San Diego neighborhoods and cultural institutions. Its portfolio ranges from CUCINA Urbana in Bankers Hill to CUCINA Enoteca locations in Newport Beach and Irvine, plus Artifact at Mingei, The Kitchen @ MCASD, Gold Finch Modern Delicatessen, Morena Provisions, and a busy catering arm. On its website, Urban Kitchen Group currently lists the Del Mar CUCINA enoteca as closed while the company refocuses its lineup. That existing brand recognition gives the new Bankers Hill restaurant a built-in audience for an all-day format.
Why the Del Mar closure matters for the new opening
The group closed its Del Mar CUCINA enoteca in March 2026, a move it attributed in part to rising lease costs and a sales slowdown that lingered after the pandemic, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Eater San Diego also reported that the company cited “substantially increased property taxes” as another factor in the shutdown, a reminder of the financial pressures bearing down on regional operators. Against that backdrop, the new Bankers Hill lease looks like a strategic pivot back to denser urban neighborhoods where the brand is already firmly rooted.
What diners can expect and next steps
The concept is being described as an all-day restaurant, typically translating to service from breakfast through dinner, along with a bar program that stays lively into the evening. Specific menus, design details and operating hours have not yet been announced. Next up are build-out permits and tenant improvements, which means the late-2027 target is plausible but still dependent on construction schedules and city sign-offs. Urban Kitchen Group says more information will be released as the project progresses through development.
