Former Wilmington mayor Harper Peterson is back in the downtown Wilmington waterfront restaurant business, transforming his former contemporary Latin American Mixto into Delphina: A New World Cantina.

Like Mixto, Delphina features a Latin American menu of familiar tacos, tortas, burritos and quesadillas with some twists, but the selection is broader and includes entrees and brunch.

Additionally, Peterson has tapped his wife, Plunkett Peterson, to streamline the décor, giving the space a more sophisticated feel, he said.

Unlike Mixto, Harper Peterson operates Delphina with his wife rather than previous Mixto partners Justin Smith, Gil Johnson and Barbara Wheetman, Peterson said. Smith and Johnson are also partners in The Husk, and Smith is a partner in YoSake.

The Petersons in spring 2013 opened the first Delphina in the former River Pilot Café at Bald Head Island Marina.

Chef Carlos Rojas, who fashioned the Bald Head Island menu, has brought his Cuban, Spanish and Mexican heritage to the downtown Wilmington menu, Harper Peterson said.

Rojas previously worked at Lumina Station’s Brasserie, as a sous chef at Bald Head Island Club and with the late, well-respected Wilmington chef Scott Fisher at former Café Atlantique, Peterson said.

At the downtown Delphina, 5 S. Water St., Rojas’ offerings include roasted corn with garlic aioli and cotija cheese; mahi tacos with mango papaya pico and chipotle aioli; build-your-own-burritos; chilaquiles with eggs, black beans and cotija cheese; seared scallops over warm Mexican corn salad; and Shipwreck, a dish of marinated pork, steak and chicken sautéed with mushrooms, onions, poblano peppers and served with rice, black beans, plantains and melted Chihuahua cheese.

Prices range from $5 to $15. Wine, beer and cocktails are served, too. Delphina is open for lunch and dinner 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and for brunch and lunch 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday, Peterson said. The restaurant will be open daily starting in March.

The Bald Head Delphina, closed for the winter season, will reopen April 1, Peterson said.