Mexican restaurant moves into former Bongos nightclub on Cherry Street | To eat

Brothers Marcos and Mateo Padilla, originally from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, plan to open Tulum Bar & Grill at 411 N. Cherry St., the former location of Bongos Nightclub.

The Padillas also owned Bongos, which they closed in 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. They then moved Bongos to Greensboro, where it now operates in partnership with Macarenas nightclub at 4922 Mary St.

Although the Bongos did not serve food, the Padillas are no strangers to the restaurant business. They also own the Super Foods supermarket at 6952 University Parkway, including the taqueria inside.

Tulum (pronounced Tuh-LOOM) takes its name from a popular beach tourist community on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea. “We named the restaurant Tulum because we also have family there,” said Marcos Padilla.

He said Tulum’s menu will include foods from southern Mexico. “We haven’t seen much food from Oaxaca and southern Mexico (in Winston-Salem) so we want to do something a little different from everyone else.”

He said construction of the kitchen is nearly complete and he hopes to open the restaurant in early June. “If everything else goes well, getting our equipment and everything, I think we can open in about six weeks.”