Popular locally owned restaurant in Raleigh’s Village District to close permanently

So.Ca, the popular Latin American restaurant in Raleigh’s Village District, will close permanently this weekend, the restaurant announced on social media.

The restaurant will hold its last dinner service this Saturday, Sept. 17. After the restaurant closes, the So.Ca team will turn its “full attention” to Ko.An, So.Ca’s sister restaurant located in Cary, an Instagram post from the restaurant said.

In the Instagram post, the restaurant said the closing is due to “a myriad of unfortunate reasons” that several restaurants have experienced locally and beyond in recent months, forcing them to also close.

“The truth is, some industries have gone from weathering the storm pretty well, to white hot, while others are still just barely recovering from being completely shuttered for a time,” the post reads.

The restaurant, which has been open for more than five years, was known for its street food-inspired small plates with flavors from the Caribbean and Central and South America. Former News & Observer restaurant critic Greg Cox gave the restaurant four stars after it opened in 2017.

“It has been our greatest honor to be your neighborhood spot to celebrate life’s important events over the past 5+ years,” So.Ca’s Instagram post reads. “The love and support you showed us at the beginning of the pandemic and throughout our many pivots and transformations was palpable, and we will never forget it.”

So.Ca was at one point part of an umbrella of locally owned global street food restaurants, including the flagship Bu.Ku that was first in downtown Raleigh before it moved to Cary and was renamed Ko.An in 2019, filling the former An Cuisines space. That restaurant will remain open.

Bu.Ku expanded to a second location in Wake Forest in 2018, which is now closed.

“We will miss doing that for you as the so•ca brand, on this iconic corner, as we as a restaurant family turn our full attention to our sister restaurant, kō•än, in Cary,” the So.Ca’s Instagram post reads. “We first opened our doors to you as bu•ku downtown in January 2010, and we will continue that same love of hospitality at kō•än, in the coming years.”

In announcing the restaurant’s closing, So.Ca encouraged its patrons to continue supporting local restaurants.

“As we leave, we ask that you consider going out to dinner at your favorite local family-owned restaurants and ordering all of your favorite things,” the post reads. “And if that restaurant is so•ca, we hope to see you this weekend.”