After a two-week break, Penca Restaurante downtown will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, and is extending its hours to include late-night dining.

It took Patricia and Ron Schwabe a year to renovate the building at 50 E. Broadway, where they opened Penca in 2013. The restaurant closes for two or three weeks each July to give the employees a chance to recharge their creative energy. 

Owner Patricia Schwabe said the extended hours is in response to downtown's growing live entertainment scene. Having the kitchen open until 11 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and until midnight Saturdays and Sundays creates a post-performance dining option for folks attending  performances at Tucson Music Hall, Centennial Hall, Temple of Music and Art, Fox Theatre and clubs and venues along East Congress Street and North Fourth Avenue.

Penca, 50 E. Broadway, serves central Mexico cuisine including turkey pozole, tacos and tortas on the lunch menu, and dinner entrees that employ steak, chicken and seafood, and an extensive and inventive array of tacos including a grilled prickly pear cactus taco.

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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburch