A new name has gone up at 431 Main Street in downtown Windsor. Karen Arechiga has taken ownership of what was Cancun Mexican Grill & Cantina and reopened it as Casa Mestiza, a Mexican restaurant serving birria quesadillas, volcanic stone bowls and mixed grilled-meat platters out of a storefront that has changed hands more than once in the past several years.
The ownership change was announced in early October, according to Retro 102.5, which reports Arechiga took over the Windsor Cancun location and converted it into Casa Mestiza. The restaurant's menu, posted on its online ordering page, leans into shareable, hearty plates: a salad loaded with romaine, red cabbage, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, avocado, mango, roasted corn, asparagus, orange slices, queso fresco and crispy tortilla strips sits alongside heavier options built for a full meal.
Among those heavier dishes is a volcanic stone bowl filled with grilled steak, chicken and carnitas, plus grilled peppers and onions, cactus and panela cheese, all simmered in what the menu calls its signature green avocado sauce. The birria quesadillas use flour tortillas marinated in consommé and stuffed with melted cheese and birria, per the same online menu. For bigger appetites, a mixed grill platter combines steak, chicken, carnitas, shrimp and Mexican chorizo over a bed of grilled onions and peppers.
A Storefront That Keeps Changing Hands
The 431 Main Street address has seen a string of tenants in recent years. Okole Maluna, a Hawaiian restaurant, operated there for 16 years before closing in late 2020, the station's earlier report notes. Azu Asian briefly occupied the space from January through August 2021 before Cancun Mexican Grill & Cantina moved in.
Exactly when Cancun opened its Windsor doors is disputed between outlets. Retro 102.5's Casa Mestiza report places the opening in January 2022 at the corner of 5th Street and Main, while K99 reported the location officially opened on June 11, 2022. K99 also noted that Cancun had operated for years in Greeley and had an additional location in Fort Collins before expanding to Windsor.
Sweets and a Busy First Lunch
Dessert options at Casa Mestiza include churros described on the menu as warm and crispy, along with other sweet items such as fried pastry, fried cheesecake and tres leches cake. The station's report notes that its author visited Casa Mestiza for lunch in mid-October and found the restaurant busy during that visit.
Downtown Windsor's Growing Dining Scene
Casa Mestiza's opening fits into a broader pattern of growth along Windsor's Main Street corridor. Windsor's population has more than tripled since 2000, according to census figures cited by The Coloradoan, and the paper reported that at least three new eateries were set to join downtown Windsor's restaurant scene in 2022, including the original Cancun Mexican Grill & Cantina.
That same report pointed to Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar, serving Windsor since 2007, and Hearth Restaurant and Pub, which opened across Main Street in 2015 after its owner saw demand for a less formal dining option. High Hops became the town's first microbrewery in 2012. Together, those openings sketch a downtown that has steadily added dining options even as individual storefronts, like the one now home to Casa Mestiza, have turned over more than once.
