Red Mesa shares more details on second Mercado in St. Pete
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 11, 2023

The operators of Red Mesa Group have provided more details on its second Mercado location, expected to open in 2024 in the Pasadena area.

The new restaurant at 6001 Central Ave. will have 250 seats and 80 parking spaces. There will also be a 20-person freestanding full-liquor bar driven by the group’s “cocktail-forward vision for the Mercado brand.” The company said its plans include “continued expansion of the Mercado concept across other neighborhoods in Pinellas County.”

Pending permitting and approvals, construction for the Pasadena Red Mesa Mercado is expected to begin in October.

“We try to build food destinations, and Mercado is — without a doubt — the concept we developed to be replicated,” COO Pete Veytia III said in a release. “We look forward to debuting a truly unique space that allows us to stay true to our roots while continuing to meet the community where they are with this concept.”

Red Mesa Mercado offers family friendly items including the Cali Burrito, a plantain bowl and shrimp tacos. The original Mercado location opened in 2014 at 1100 First Ave. N in St. Pete’s Edge district.

Veytia said he and his team were drawn to the space that was formerly home to Two Graces due to its 1950s architecture, citing that the building’s “Palm Springs feel” has ties to his mother’s upbringing in Southern California.

The Red Mesa Restaurant opened in 1995 and later added the Red Mesa Cantina, Red Mesa Mercado and Quatro, a stationary food truck.

“A key driver of the impressive talent we’ve been able to bring in is our shared vision of expanding and improving one dish at a time,” Veytia said in a release. “This team is hungry and recognizes that growth for the brand translates to innumerable opportunities for growth in their careers.”

West St. Petersburg and the Pasadena area have recently seen a wave of growth. Bayfront Health opened its newest emergency room in west St. Pete in June. The same month, an 85-unit senior affordable housing project broke ground. The former Raytheon property is moving ahead with a redevelopment plan to bring more than 1,000 apartments to the area.