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Cantina 76 coming to Mount Pleasant

Staff //April 5, 2018//

Cantina 76 coming to Mount Pleasant

Staff //April 5, 2018//

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Cantina 76 is planning to open a Mount Pleasant location later this spring in place of The Americano, which had been for sale since The Americano closed in July. (Photo/Patrick Hoff)Cantina 76, Mexican restaurant and bar founded in Columbia in 2009, is opening a Mount Pleasant location later this spring in the former home of The Americano.

This will be the fifth Cantina 76 location overall and the second in the Lowcountry. There are two Cantina 76 locations in Columbia, one in Greenville, and one at Freshfields Village in Kiawah Island.

Rob Ward, one of the four managing partners of Cantina 76, said he and the other partners spent a lot of time looking at the Charleston market before choosing 819 Coleman Blvd. because they were intent on finding the right place.

“It’s a beautiful space, a beautiful area right up from Shem Creek on Coleman, right there headed out to Sullivan,” Ward said. “It was kind of a no-brainer and something we’d been looking to do for a long time.”

Craig Wyatt, another managing partner, said the physical attributes of the building is another big reason the owners were drawn to the former Americano, including the size of the parking lot and the two outdoor patios.

“The building itself is just about the perfect size for our concept based on our other locations, and we like the fact that the prior owners did a wonderful job remodeling the building,” he said.

Wyatt said The Americano had a similar theme to Cantina 76, but the owners plan to do some remodeling of the restaurant’s interior to give it the “Cantina touch” — changing some of the fixtures decorative pieces, redoing the booths, and renovating the kitchen.

“Over the years, we’ve learned that we kind of like what we like (in kitchen equipment), so we’re pretty much gutting all of the kitchen,” he said. “The layout will stay the same, but we’re pretty much putting in all new equipment in the kitchen and the bar.”

The exterior, however, will mainly remain unchanged besides replacing The Americano’s signage with that of Cantina 76.

The Americano had been for sale since it closed in July.

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