Matador Restaurant to Open in the Former Heidi's Space in the Highlands

The Highlands neighborhood is getting hotter: Matador, a Seattle-based restaurant group, will open a location in the former Heidi's Brooklyn Deli space at 32nd and Lowell. Set up as a restaurant and tequila bar, Matador specializes in Tex-Mex cuisine and offers hand-crafted specialty cocktails and over one hundred varieties of tequila. Guests can expect offerings ranging from classic taco plates and enchiladas to contemporary favorites such as bacon-wrapped grilled stuffed jalapeños or braised pork sope with house-pickled vegetables.

"We have considered opening a restaurant in Denver for a long time and had letters of intent on spaces that fell through in the past," Madeline Scarp, media coordinator for the group, said. "We have been exploring that neighborhood for a while and are excited for this opportunity," she added.

Matador plans to integrate some of its well-established signature food and design concepts into the Denver location, but there are also whisperings that things may be a bit different in Denver. "This location gives us the opportunity to examine what we love best about our restaurants and reinvigorate the concept for Denver," Scarp explained.

There are currently four Matador restaurants in Seattle, two in Portland, and one in Boise. This eight location will not open immediately as the restaurant has yet to break ground on the extensive renovations it is planning for the 4000 square foot space. A liquor license will also have to be obtained by Matador. The very tentative opening timeframe, according to Scarp, is May.

While Matador focuses specifically on Tex-Mex dishes, the restaurant will join the taco fever that is beginning to take over the neighborhood with El Camino, a staple of the neighborhood less than a block away and the second location of Pinche Tacos opening in February at 32nd and Irving.

· Kevin Morrison to Bring Pinche Taqueria to Highlands [EDen]
· Sweet Cow Ice Cream Comes to Denver's LoHi Neighborhood [EDen]
· Most Anticipated Openings of 2013 [EDen]

[Photo: Matador Restaurants]