Zanitas moves to Highpointe development

Zanitas Mexican & Margaritas is moving to the Shoppes at Highpointe at Interstate 25 and Hampden Avenue.

Formerly located on The Hill in Boulder, the 2,600-square-foot restaurant is expected to open early next month, and this time it will include a patio.

Zanitas' menu includes traditional Mexican fare such as enchiladas, burritos and tacos, as well as its trademarked NuMex cuisine created by certified master chef Ed Janos, purveyor of Cook's Fresh Market on the 16th Street Mall downtown.

The NuMex cuisine includes novel items such as salmon tacos, mac and cheese tacos and buffalo chicken wing tacos. The restaurant also will have a full bar.

"One thing we learned in Boulder is that some people just want traditional Mexican items like enchiladas and burritos," says Zanitas’ co-founder Nick Hayes. 

Ultimately, the Highpointe development will include a retail center, luxury apartment complex and retirement community. 

Greenwood Village-based developer D.H. Friedman Properties LLC bought the 4.15-acre retail portion of the site, a stone’s throw from the Southmoor Light Rail Station, in 2011, ending years of speculation over who would develop the property that once was home to the first full-service Marriott hotel west of the Mississippi River. The hotel, built as a Marriott in 1974 and converted to a Four Points by Sheraton in 2004, was razed in 2010 by the site's previous owner.

Denver-based Spectrum Retirement Communities LLC is building a 90-unit assisted-living community; and Forum Real Estate Group LLC, also based in Denver, is building the 363-unit Veranda Highpointe apartments.