New owners freshen Raza Fresa

The name is still the same. Many of the favorite menu items are still there. The vibrant colors of the décor still welcome customers. But behind the office doors of Raza Fresa Mexican Kitchen, big changes are occurring.

On April 1, 2023, Rosalio Ibarra and partner Yovanny Quintana purchased the popular Niwot restaurant from the original owner, Steve Garcia, who opened the restaurant under his family’s franchise name “Ajuua!” in the early 2000s, and changed the name to Raza Fresa in April of 2018.

Ibarra learned about the potential opportunity from his hometown (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) friend, Quintana. After some preliminary discussions, Ibarra, who was living in Mexico at the time, decided to head to Colorado.

“He (Steve Garcia) wanted to meet me and work with me and see if we might become partners,” Ibarra explained.

In September 2022, Ibarra and Quintana both joined the staff at Raza Fresa, Ibarra as a waiter and Quintana as a chef. As time went by, it became clear to Ibarra and Quintana that a different partnership might be needed.

“In about February, we (Ibarra and Quintana) started talking and decided to try and buy it ourselves,” Ibarra said.

The pair formed a corporation, Ibarra Quintana Corp., and negotiated a deal with Garcia to purchase the restaurant outright, while retaining the name and many of the popular recipes. “He has some really great recipes,” Ibarra said.

Ibarra comes with plenty of restaurant experience of his own. “I’ve been working in the restaurant business since I was 14 years old. I started washing dishes and I moved up from there.”

He eventually owned two authentic Mexican restaurants in northern Idaho, one in Sandpoint and another five miles away in Ponderay.

“We did really well in Idaho but then we tried (to expand to) Oklahoma, but that didn’t work for us. During COVID, I sold everything and went back to Mexico,” he explained. But it wasn’t long before he received the call from Quintana.

Raza Fresa’s new menu, which just came out in May, includes 19 additions from Ibarra and Quintana’s past.

“Our specialty is Carne Asada y Más,” Ibarra said. “Another dish that has been really popular is the Pollo Mango. It’s a chicken breast with red and green peppers, mango slices in a mango sauce. Yes, that one is going really good. Everybody who tries it, they really like it.”

Along with the new menu items, Ibarra thinks the new ownership is bringing something more to Raza Fresa.

“We brought a few new dishes, and we brought our concern to make everybody happy, you know, try and please everyone. It’s hard, but we have a pretty great group of people. I really enjoy what we do. I think the key is you have to be consistent. I want them to see the same faces every time they come in.”

And he thinks Niwot is the right place to grow his new restaurant.

“Niwot is a great place. The people are so friendly, and they seem very glad that we are here. I haven’t heard anybody complain about it (the change). I know we’ll make mistakes – everybody makes mistakes. But we’re going to try and make the least mistakes possible and try to make everyone happy,” he said with a big smile.