Boxset Collective Debuts Rotating Restaurant Concept, Starting With Mojo Cantina-Izakaya

It’s the day after Vancouver’s fourth ever Michelin Awards ceremony when I walk into Mojo Cantina-Izakaya. The new restaurant looks kind of familiar—and that’s because it is. As of a few weeks ago, the spot was the beloved upscale Mexican bar-restaurant El Gato Gab Gab, at 2650 Main St.

Despite the bright, playful and vibey Mexican-inspired interior looking fairly similar, the menu and the concept from the Boxset Collective haunt are decidedly different. What was once chicken skin chilaquiles and rainbow trout tacos has now become a Mexican-Izakaya hybrid, serving up small plates meant for sharing, charcoal-grilled proteins and a refreshing agave-forward cocktail program that plays up both Mexican and Japanese culture (think mezcal- and tequila-based drinks balanced by yuzu and sake flavours).

Restaurants from the Boxset Collective have undergone a few quick changes over the last couple of years—namely the closure of Michelin-recommended (and the bronze winner of the 2025 Vanmag Restaurant Awards’ Informal Contemporary category) wine bar Bar Susu. The same spot we’re sitting in as I speak with co-founder Cody Allmin was Novella Coffee Bar and Vignette wine bar not too long ago, then, for a year, El Gato Gab Gab and, now, Mojo Cantina-Izakaya. 

So when I ask Allmin if he’s feeling the hole left by Bar Susu in the Michelin-recommended list which came out the night before, the answer is simple: he doesn’t create restaurant concepts with the hope of earning accolades.

“I think that there are more successful restaurants in the city that don’t have a Michelin star than there are with. As much as I think it’s awesome for our team to get that pat on the back that they’re crushing it, I don’t think it really has any effect on business,” Allmin says, leaning into a chair in the 78-seater restaurant, which quietly opened in late September.

“People’s word-of-mouth and how they speak of your program and what you’re doing is what I care about.”

Allmin’s declaration and the quick changes echo Boxset Collective’s new core philosophy for this space: the room is a playground for restaurant ideas, rather than a permanent home for just one concept—with the sole purpose of being enjoyed by the people who patronize them.

“It was through a casual conversation over drinks that we realized we really love opening restaurants,” Allmin says, referencing his Boxset Collective co-conspirators, which includes Allmin’s twin brother, Clay, beverage director Joe Casson and a few other silent investors. The group also brings back executive chef Christian Chaumont for the new restaurant.

Together, the group comes up with menu concepts, interior design ideas and a killer cocktail list, which is the creative juice that keeps the restaurateurs amped.

“We don’t really hold ourselves to any kind of timeline for how long a concept’s gonna be around. If it does really well, let’s just keep it for six months. If it’s not doing great, let’s just push up the next one,” Allmin explains.

As much as Boxset Collective’s new model is creative, it’s also just practical. 

“Obviously, it’s costly to continue to open restaurants. There’s a lot of risk involved. So we thought, what if this place just became a space where we open restaurants all the time?”

By keeping a single location in rotation, they bypass the high cost of finding, leasing and renovating new spaces. 

Mojo Cantina-Izakaya is the first full rollout under this rotating concept. Drawing inspiration from both Mexican cuisine and Japanese izakaya-style dining, Chef Chaumont (formerly of Tultepec, Cuchillo and Mexico City’s Máximo Bistro) serves up his spin on charcoal-grilled tapas.

Take the skewered pork belly, for example. Glazed with the spot’s “mojo” tare, it’s touched by the grill just long enough to caramelize at the edges, making it both smoky-sweet and tender. The tiger prawns are a set of two charred, butterflied crustaceans (heads still on), brushed with a Guadalajara aioli that dances on the tastebuds.

These shareable dishes, by the way, pair perfectly with the agave-forward cocktails, like the citrus-forward Fruit Ninja (made with patrón, cointreau, mango, a yuzu ponzu and tangerine) rimmed with sesame and salt; or the Yuzutini, a smoky, mezcal-heavy cocktail balanced by yuzu sake, lillet blanc and nashi pear.

Chef Chaumont’s pièce de résistance are the karaage chicken wings, which rival Michelin-recommended Phnom Penh’s. For those who’ve somehow missed the memo, the latter have become something of an urban legend in Vancouver, with diners queuing for hours (yes, plural) just to try them. Here, the wings are juicy and plump, tossed in a fish sauce caramel, which coats the skin for a delicate umami crisp.

While Mojo Cantina-Izakaya is the first glimpse of what a constantly evolving restaurant space looks like in Vancouver, it might not be around long enough to earn a Michelin recommendation by 2026—but according to Allmin, that’s exactly the point. 

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