One of Raleigh’s liveliest restaurants will expand to Cary next month
At 8 o’clock, the lights go down and the music goes up at La Buena Vida in North Raleigh, one of the Triangle’s biggest restaurant parties.
The modern Mexican restaurant from Fonda Lupita owners, married couple Biridiana Frausto and Salvador Alvarez, will expand next month to Cary, taking over the former Totopos space.
Totopos closed in December after nine years in Cary’s Shannon Oaks shopping center. The restaurant was part of the empire of popular spots co-owned by Joel Ibarra, along with El Rodeo, Chido Taco and La Rancherita. Alvarez also recently opened Yatai, a fusion of Mexican and Japanese dishes, in Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall.
Frausto said the popular Mexican restaurant struggled through COVID and that it was time to take the restaurant in the more lively direction of La Buena Vida. But she said closing the Totopos chapter was difficult.
“Totopos has been amazing for us personally, I met my husband working there,” Frausto said. “After COVID hit it was really hard to get our regular clients back. After COVID we couldn’t get it back up to where it was before. It was just the time for Totopos to come to a good end and say goodbye to the memories.”
A night out in Miami? Just go to La Buena Vida
La Buena Vida opened in North Raleigh early in 2022, turning a former Tilted Kilt sports bar into one of the Triangle’s most raucous dining experiences.
Frausto said they’re eager to replicate the party in Cary.
From the beginning, Frausto said La Buena Vida set out to offer a distinctive dining experience in the Triangle. The restaurant aims to match the experience of a night out in Miami, Frausto said, but in North Raleigh.
“In this type of industry, everyone has to specialize and we asked ourselves, what do we like that Raleigh is lacking?” Frausto said. “Why do people go to Miami for bachelor parties? We wanted to build somewhere you want to go when you go out to celebrate.”
In its first year, La Buena Vida found a following with its nighttime switch from a traditional dinner to something closer to a meal and a nightclub. That following took a little time to build.
“It seemed a little risky at first, because nobody was doing it,” Frausto said. “It was a little slow when not a lot of people knew what we were doing. During the week it’s very chill very laid back, but on the weekends at 8, that’s the turning time.”
At 8 p.m., Frausto said that’s the line between dinner and late night. The lights dim, a DJ starts playing music, servers don masks and shots of tequila are served in toy airplanes. Other flourishes include octopus and bone marrow set aflame tableside with tequila, and diners get a show as the $100 tomahawk ribeye is carved next to their seats.
“It’s pretty much like a whole party,” Frausto said.
The owners expect to open La Buena Vida Cary by mid-February and replicate the party in sleepy suburbia.
“We’re trying to keep the same vibes,” Frausto said. “We haven’t tested the waters; we know that Cary goes to sleep at 8:30, but there’s also that crowd that thinks, why should the party stop at 8:30?”
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