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Puerto Rican restaurant, Koki, has closed its downtown Durham building after seven years, the restaurant posted on Facebook earlier this month. It’s location at 104 City Hall Plaza #101 closed on Tuesday, July 14 but customers can still enjoy visit the Morrisville location at 10970 Chapel Hill Road, #122.
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Koki started in 2016 as a food truck called Spanglish, offering authentic Puerto Rican dishes like sabao bread and empanadas. In 2019, they began event catering, followed by the opening of the Durham location in 2019, according to the restaurant’s website.
“When we first opened our doors, we had one simple dream: to share a little piece of Puerto Rico through our food and create a place where everyone felt at home,” Koki wrote on Facebook. “What we found was more than we could have ever imagined. We found a community that believed in us from day one.”
The restaurant gets its name from a species of endangered frog native to Puerto Rico known commonly as coqui. The nocturnal frogs’ croak is one of the most common sounds on the island.
“Oh no! I have good memories in that location,” a Facebook user commented on the closure post. “It has been a little while since I last went to Morrisville, I should pay you a visit soon! I miss my pork belly bowl.”
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The self-proclaimed creative Puerto Rican kitchen is known for its mofongo, a traditional dish with plantains as the main ingredient, empanadas and sandwiches. WRAL first reported the closing on Friday, July 24.
The N&O reached out to Koki about their closing but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The News & Observer recently reported in June that True Flavors Diner in Durham closed its doors after years of serving creative brunch dishes like lobster biscuits and carbonara French toast. The owner cited high costs and rising rent as the reason behind its closing.
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