Tropical Space Adventure Bar Coming to South Park Courtesy of Kindred

In 2015, Kindred landed in South Park bearing vegan food, serious cocktails, and death-metal. The unconventional confluence was quickly adopted by the community, which has helped buoy the restaurant during this challenging year says owner Kory Stetina. Though he’s often asked to expand Kindred to more locations, Stetina is pretty resolved to keep it as a stand-alone spot. And his loyalty to the neighborhood is so strong that he isn’t going far for his next project.

Just a half a mile from Kindred, the five-year-old Del Sur Mexican Cantina announced yesterday that it will be finishing its run on 30th Street by the end of May. Stetina, who’s always loved the space, will be transforming it into the new permanent home of Kindred’s popular Thursday night pop-up Permanent Vacation, which has become known for its exotic cocktails and weekly food specials.

Described by sci-fi fan Stetina as a “tropical space adventure bar”, it’s being called Mothership and features a far-out origin story of an exploratory starship crashing on a mysterious, forbidden tropical planet. After a redesign by Ignacio “Notch” Gonzalez of Top Notch Kustoms, who created the immersive designs at San Francisco tiki wonderland Smuggler’s Cove and Whitechapel, a steampunk-inspired gin palace, the bar should open in South Park by Fall/Winter 2021.

Courtesy image

Though hundreds of cocktails were created for the Permanent Vacation pop-up over the last five years, Mothership will have a brand new, rum-dominated cocktail list headed up by Kindred’s founding bar manager David Kinsey who is overseeing both venues while bartender Dannika Underhill, reigning champ of the Tiki Oasis Bartender Battle, will collaborate on drinks and be a steady presence at the new bar. Stetina says they’re taking care to make sure that the two spots don’t overlap in terms of food and drink, with Mothership’s all-vegan menu by Dylan Craver, head chef of Kindred since 2018, positioned as more experimental.

Kindred business partner Arsalun Tafazoli of Consortium Holdings is also supporting this venture, but Stetina tells Eater that Mothership will be similarly run as an independent operation separate from the hospitality group.

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