One of Wynwood's original neighborhood hangouts is coming home. Kush Hospitality says Kush Wynwood will reopen this October at its old corner, 2003 N. Miami Avenue at NE 20th Street, as the anchor of Kush Korner: a restored 1926 building with a restaurant downstairs and 10 studio apartments upstairs set aside for people who work in Miami's restaurants.

The corner, restored

Before the murals drew tour buses, Kush was one of the places that made Wynwood feel like a neighborhood. The original ran for nearly a decade on this corner before it closed for a lengthy preservation effort on the nearly 100-year-old building. The new project, which Kush Hospitality announced on September 22, covers about 7,500 square feet in all.

The restaurant itself takes about 2,200 square feet, with roughly 50 seats and a 12-seat island bar. Around it, the building will hold Broth and Bitters, the first bar from Miami bartender Erika Holtz, and Creative Souls, a tattoo studio from local artist James Moyer. The whole place doubles as a gallery: more than 25 works by about 20 artists, including murals by Lalone, Krave and Camilo Rojas, line the space.

Housing for the people who run the kitchens

The part that makes Kush Korner different from every other reopening this fall is upstairs. Founder Matt Kuscher built 10 micro-unit studios on the property, reserved as affordable housing for hospitality professionals: the cooks, servers, bartenders and hosts who keep Miami's restaurant scene running but are increasingly priced out of the neighborhoods where they work.

The affordability is meant to last. According to the company, the units carry a 50-year affordability commitment, and the project was done in partnership with the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency. Kuscher has said publicly that he wants this to be a model he repeats, not a one-time gesture, and the company's own site frames it as a question of who gets to stay in a neighborhood where change can feel inevitable.

A greatest hits menu

For regulars, the important news is that the food is coming back too. Kush Hospitality says the new Wynwood menu pulls favorites from across its restaurants over the years. The Johnny Utah burger, with corned beef, cheddar and LoKal sauce, returns, along with the Jewban sandwich. The bar will carry a full cocktail program, with drinks named Coming Home From Tootsies and Mexican From Miami, plus local craft beer and a $5 happy hour.

The format inside is new, even if the corner is familiar. Kush Hospitality describes it as the same hospitality in a new format, still built on award-winning bites, unpretentious vibes and doing things the right way. Expect the restaurant, the bar and the tattoo studio to feed off one another, so a burger at lunch can turn into a nightcap at Broth and Bitters without leaving the building.

Kush built its reputation on exactly this kind of comfort cooking. The group's site lists awards for its burgers, its key lime pie, its chicken and waffles and its veggie burger, and Kush Brickell has kept the flame going while the Wynwood corner was dark.

When you can go

Kush Hospitality is targeting October for the reopening but has not posted an exact opening day. Its Wynwood page is collecting sign-ups for anyone who wants to hear the moment the doors open. Planned hours are 11:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. until late on Friday and Saturday.

Until then, the Brickell location is open for orders. When Wynwood does open, go for lunch on a weekday, when it is easiest to grab a seat at the island bar, order the Johnny Utah, and take a lap around the walls before you leave. Parking in Wynwood is tight on weekends, so a rideshare is the easier call on a Saturday night.