Wake Forest Mexican Restaurant Returns After Two Years With New Name

Las Margaritas, the basement Mexican restaurant that anchored the 111 S. White Street block in downtown Wake Forest for 26 years, is coming back. After closing roughly two years ago for a complete remodel, the beloved South White Street staple is relaunching under a new name: Las Mas Mexican Food & Cantina.

The Triangle Food Blog and WRAL food reporter Sean Lennard both flagged the reopening in their late-March 2026 roundups, confirming the rebrand and noting the extensive renovation of the original space. No firm grand-opening date has been announced, but coverage described the return as "coming soon," with the owners expected to update social channels once final preparations are complete.

The closure left a conspicuous vacancy in a stretch of downtown Wake Forest that has otherwise been in the middle of a deliberate revival. The Wilkinson Building restoration and other nearby historic-property projects have drawn attention to the Main Street corridor as a target for reinvestment, and the return of Las Margaritas fits squarely into that push. A restaurant that built its following over more than two decades of weekend foot traffic, late-evening margaritas, and its distinctively underground dining room does not need to reinvent itself entirely; it needs only to reopen.

The rebrand to Las Mas Mexican Food & Cantina signals a refreshed identity while keeping the physical roots intact. The same basement location on White Street that regulars described for years as a "hidden gem" will now host an updated interior and menu, though specific dishes and pricing had not been released as of late March.

For downtown Wake Forest, the stakes of that reopening extend beyond any single table. Evening and weekend dining anchors foot traffic for neighboring retailers, and a well-trafficked restaurant at the corner of S. White Street can drive the kind of repeat visits that sustain the broader commercial block. The two-year gap left by Las Margaritas was long enough that its return qualifies as a genuine relaunch, not just a routine reopening.