Cabo coming to Rehoboth

The Porcini House in Rehoboth Beach is set for a reboot this summer.

The restaurant at 210 Second St. will be re-tooled to open Saturday, May 5, with a new concept and a new name: Cabo Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar.

Co-owner and chef Jay Caputo said, “I decided to change the concept because we never really sort of hit our stride here in Rehoboth. I think doing a fun sort of tequila bar with really good, reasonably priced Mexican food is a market we can certainly capitalize on.”

Cabo will have traditional Mexican foods such as tacos, fish tacos and burritos, as well as ceviche and an empanada of the day every day, Caputo said.

“We’ll have a couple of more modern twists on Mexican food. It’s going to be heavy on seafood,” he said.

Caputo said none of the entrees would cost more than $22. He said Cabo would have vegetables and citrusy items that would typically be found in the restaurant’s namesake, Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Caputo himself will be alternating chef duties between Cabo and his other restaurant, Espuma. Helping Caputo at Cabo will be sous chef Tommy Deptula, who lived and worked in Mexico for a number of years.

“He’s got some real, authentic roots,” Caputo said.

Caputo and partner Greg Plummer had thought about changing Porcini House’s concept, and were inspired by a trip last year to Cabo San Lucas.

“Greg and I both loved the location, we loved the spot, and we loved the outdoor facility. He made a good point that maybe we could capitalize on that a little better than the Porcini House had, so we came up with this concept. We’re pretty excited about it,” he said.

A new entrance, brighter color scheme, improved interior space and an outside waiting area will all be new.

“We opened up a couple walls to give more of a homogeneous feel. It’s just more airy and bright. I think people will be surprised when they walk in the new front door,” Caputo said.

Much like its predecessor, Cabo will have an indoor and outdoor bar area, with both being converted to tequila bars.

“The back bar is going to be all tequilas. We’re going to have 25 to 30 different tequilas. Some real high end, some very reasonably priced. We’ll have the full bar, but that’s going to be our main focus, to get people to try some tequila cocktails and different kinds of margaritas,” he said.

Among the tequila brands available will be Don Julio, Patrón, Milagro, Jose Cuervo and Avion, which was featured on HBO’s “Entourage.”

“We’re going to try to get people to experience something they haven’t tried in the past,” Caputo said.

The bars will also have predominately Mexican beers, with a mix of local beers.

“I’m super excited about this change,” Caputo said. “Porcini House – I loved the concept; I don’t think that everybody else loved it as much as I did. This is a really good opportunity.”

Previews of Cabo’s menu are ongoing at Espuma until the end of April. Cabo will be open seven days a week, Monday-Thursday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on the weekends. For more information call 226-8226 or visit www.cabo-restaurant.com