K-Bok Korean Fried Chicken Opens in Union Square Space Once Home to Cantina La Mexicana

K-Bok Korean Fried Chicken swung its doors wide at November's close in Union Square. The space once belonged to Cantina La Mexicana, which served customers for 28 years. You'll find it at 249 Washington St. in Somerville.

Three chicken flavors grace the menu: Original crispy, Spicy yangnyeom, and Soy garlic bliss. Party packs arrive with 10, 20, or 30 pieces, and boneless versions give you 6 or 12.

K-Bok whips up sandwiches too: vegetarian bites, fries, and morning pastries for early risers. Hours stretch from 8 a.m. until midnight, seven days running.

Cantina La Mexicana shuttered on Sept. 3, 2023. The Rendón clan had kept it alive since 1995 — close to three decades.

Karina Rendón watched her parents, Roberto and Carolina, build the place from nothing. Competition from nearby Mexican spots squeezed out mom-and-pop operations like theirs, she explained, per MassLive. Eviction forced them out of the building.

"It's always really sad to see a business that has been such an anchor to the community not be able to continue to exist here," she said, according to MassLive. "It's just a really big part of the fabric of the community."

Her parents took what Karina called a "forced retirement" and decided to hang up the margarita shakers and pans and "call it quits."

Two years passed after the Mexican restaurant closed. Then the Korean fried chicken shop slipped in without fanfare, claiming the space in late November.