by TM Petaccia

When the B-Side Hospitality partners behind of The Story Mi Cariño took control of the South End space formerly occupied by Vana, the initial impulse was practical rather than poetic. Partners Kamal Patel, Ankoor Patel (no relation), and Richard Williams were not chasing speed or trend. Instead, they leaned on experience, particularly the lessons learned from earlier ventures.

“The first thing that we wanted to do was get rid of the garage doors,” says Kamal Patel laughing. “If we just did that, that was gonna be good enough for me.” But as soon as the team began addressing structural issues, particularly a compromised wood-fire setup and a ventilation system that left soot throughout the space, it became clear that incremental fixes wouldn’t suffice. “When you start doing that, you might as well start from scratch,” Patel says. 

That reset opened the door for a broader rethinking of what the restaurant could be. “The mistakes we made earlier, we definitely made sure we didn’t make here,” Williams said, referencing Vinyl, the popular bar/restaurant right around the corner from Mi Cariño.

Opening on January 30, with a special Unpretentious Palate preview dinner on the 28th, The project took nearly two years from bare brick and plaster to opening. “This is a beautiful design masterpiece,” Williams said. “Every little detail has been thought about.” That patience, he added, is what allowed the concept to fully come together.  

Culinary alignment was central to that process. The partners had followed the work of Hector González-Mora long before Mi Cariño existed. “We even toured the kitchen with him,” Ankoor Patel said, recalling González-Mora’s pop-up days. “If you’d like to cook out of this kitchen, we can still do it.” When González-Mora began transitioning away from Resident Culture, timing solidified the partnership.  

Just as important was what Mi Cariño would not be. “We did not want to go to the fast casual,” Ankoor Patel says. Rising food costs and labor challenges made that model less viable, particularly for the level of talent they wanted to attract. “We just want to get it right,” he says.

That philosophy carries through the kitchen. Culinary Director Vince Giancarlo described his role as supportive rather than directive. “In my opinion, the menu is vastly Hector,” he said. His contributions focused on sourcing products that could elevate the food, such as a 100 percent Akaushi Wagyu ribeye from Texas and a kan-kan pork chop that includes belly, rib meat, and bone in a single cut. “The final plates,” Giancarlo said, “they’re his babies.”  

One of the most intentional collaborations is the house-made sourdough flour tortillas. “Not something super common,” González-Mora said, “but something that has developed flavor. It’s more than just a tortilla.” Giancarlo added that the team spent months cultivating a starter and now produces multiple tortilla varieties daily. “The tortilla was not a side note,” he said. “It is a feature.”  

González-Mora described the menu’s direction as rooted in Mexican gastronomy, particularly Baja California, where seafood, mezcal, and fresh ingredients naturally intersect. “Oysters is a really good thing that goes with mezcal,” he said, noting access to seafood from North Carolina and the broader East Coast. At the same time, Mi Cariño keeps tacos at its core. “You can have really simple tacos,” he said, “but the way that we’re doing it is we’re elevating them.”

Seasonality will shape how the menu evolves. Roughly 20 to 30 percent will change throughout the year, with spring and summer bringing deeper local sourcing through farms like Harmony Ridge and Boy & Girl Farm as well as Freshlist. “Seasonality is what drives the creativity of the menu,” González-Mora said.  

Guests are encouraged to approach the menu communally. Smaller opening dishes such as a truffle corn dip and seared tenderloin with avocado crema give way a selection of tacos and tostadas and culimatinating with larger, table-centered offerings under the heading Optima Cena or “great feast” with dishes like the kan-kan pork carnitas, wagyu ribeye, and a foot-long taco designed for two to three people are meant to anchor the experience.

That sense of ritual continues at the bar. Beverage director Henry Schmulling designed Mi Cariño’s mezcalería to prioritize education and respect for agave spirits. “I will be here probably more than any other concept that we’re focusing on because of the depth of diversity in the program,” he says, “I’m excited to actually be back behind the bar a little bit more, but we actually have a really great bar staff here right off the bat.”

Building the program required unprecedented work with North Carolina’s ABC system. “I literally came in with 600 spirits at start,” Schmulling says. “I handed them my list and they were like, ‘No, we’re not doing this. Here’s our list of what we have.’ In the end, we had 293 special orders. It’s really cool we are going to be able to offer agave spirits previously unavailable in the state.”

While agave spirits form the backbone of the program, Schmulling emphasized balance and collaboration. “We’re gonna have great cocktails,” he said, designed to complement González-Mora’s food while remaining rooted in Mexican tradition. Tastings, paired dinners, and experimental ideas will follow as the program evolves.

“The whole point of this place is to celebrate what hasn’t been explored yet,” Schmulling says.