RESTAURANTS

Uchi goes uptown for second location

Uchiko will open on North Lamar.

Uchi is going uptown.

The award-winning South Austin sushi restaurant said Monday that it will open a second location next year, in a former medical office building at 4200 N. Lamar Blvd.

A partnership formed by Cencor Realty Services has bought the two-story Seton hospital office building and hired Michael Hsu to redesign the 30-year-old structure. Austin-based Tacodeli, which serves breakfast and lunch tacos, will have its third location in the building. It will also house No. 3 for Floyd's 99 Barbershop, a Denver-based chain that has shops in North and South Austin.

Uchi chef-owner Tyson Cole said last year that he wanted to open a North Austin location as a sister to his popular 6-year-old upscale restaurant on South Lamar Boulevard.

The new restaurant, to be called Uchiko, will have a walk-in dining room and one for reservation customers.

The menu and feel will be similar to at the original restaurant's, Cole said.

Cole also plans to open a Spanish-themed restaurant in the W Austin Hotel and Residences that is under construction north of City Hall.

Although the recession has caused some national restaurant chains to pull back, several Austin restaurateurs have been expanding.

Maudie's Tex-Mex, Mandola's Italian Market and Zen Japanese Food Fast have opened or planned new locations this year.

Uchi is the highest-end restaurant on the expansion list. But Daryl Kunik, Cole's business partner, said there have been long wait lines since Uchi opened in 2003.

Lance Morris of the Weitzman Group represented the new owners in buying the 31,000 square-foot building. Tom Martine of Martine Properties represented the seller.

The first three leases leave some space on the ground floor. The second floor will be used for offices.