See inside the new Soul Gastrolounge

Catch up quick: Owners Andy and Lesa Kastanas opened Soul Gastrolounge in 2009, and it quickly became a neighborhood favorite, known for its tapas-style menu — namely their Asian glazed pork belly tacos topped with watermelon, Axios' Katie Peralta Soloff wrote.

• Despite a devoted customer base, popular food and beverage menus, and consistently long lines, the Kastanases struggled to keep the business open once rent prices went up. The building on the fast-changing corner of Pecan and Central avenues remains empty to this day.

"By repurposing key design elements from the old place [the copper color of the walls, the light fixtures, the taxidermied peacock], you get an immediate feeling of the old place."

Between the lines: The new Soul is more than twice the size of the Plaza Midwood spot. It has a larger kitchen, seats for more than 200 people inside and another 30 on its outdoor patio.

• It's not an easy task to recreate the intimate, lounge-y vibe that drew lines out the door of the old location, but Weaver and the Kastanases made it a priority to transform the new 4,700-square-foot restaurant.

"The food has to be the Soul food. The music is so important. But without this vibe to pull it all together ... that's where the magic comes."

Dig in: Most of the restaurant's popular menu items, including the lamb lolly skewers, will remain the same.

• Richelle Espinosa-Brewer, AKA "Chef Shiki" who was formerly the executive chef of The Crunkleton, is the new executive chef. She was also a finalist on "Guy's Grocery Games." She's joined by executive sous chef Wanda Orick, who worked as a sous chef at the OG Soul.
• Joe Thu, who created the original sushi menu at Soul, will return as the sushi chef.
• Beverage director Stevie Laws will craft the cocktail menu with assistant beverage director Jacob Taylor, who formerly worked at Idlewild.

Stop by: The new Soul is at 4100 Raleigh St., next to Borderline Bar & Billiards, inside The Pass, a mixed-use development near the Independent Picture House, Charlotte Art League, Eighty Eights and Blackbox Theater.

• It'll have late-night food options, and its kitchen will be open Sunday—Thursday from 5-11pm and Friday—Saturday 5pm-midnight.

What's next: It's full steam ahead for the Kastanases as they focus on the finishing touches — training staff, perfecting ingredients and "trying to instill what Soul is about into a new generation of people who will help us bring this to life — because we can't do it alone," Lesa said.

• Once Soul is up and running, they'll be able to shift their focus to other growing areas of their business. Catering, for example, is something they were never able to do out of the small kitchen in their old Plaza Midwood spot. They hope to start offering on and off-site catering this fall.
• They're also reviving another Plaza Midwood favorite next door to Soul — Tattoo Liquor Lounge. The new bar, set to open in the next few months, will have its own entrance next to Soul.

Laura's thought bubble: We are so back.

• If you were a fan of the OG Soul, get ready to be smacked with nostalgia. And if you never had the pleasure of visiting before it closed, one look at the menu will tell you why it was such a hit.
• On a packed Saturday night, you're still sitting close enough to your neighbors to peek over and ask what they ordered.

Context: I went to a media preview before Monday's official opening to the public. Here's everything we ordered:

Editor's note: This story was originally published on Aug. 4 and updated Aug. 24 with photos of the dishes.