Bringing on the burritos for city

BURRITO fans rejoice – because the popular Mexican restaurant Zapatista is expanding.

The chain, which has branches on Ridley Place and Grainger Street in Newcastle, is opening an outlet in Durham city centre.

The new restaurant has created 18 new jobs, meaning that the chain now employs more than 50 people.

Business owner Chris Burn said Durham felt like the next natural step for his business.

He said: “It’s just a great location, everything about it, from the history of Durham to the students and the tourism.

“I’ve been coming down here for years with the kids and it’s such a great location.”

The new restaurant, located at 87 Elvet Bridge, is expected to carry all the old favourites from the Zapatista menu and the same ambience.

It will be serving burritos, tacos and wings in a Grade II-listed property.

Chris visited Chichen Itza in Mexico to broaden his research and inject a more traditional energy into the Durham restaurant. He said the new branch was “quite a bit of a transition”. He added: “There was quite a lot of inspiration from the trip to Mexico, a lot of colour and the general feel.”

The two-floor restaurant houses a number of bright murals and wall art, inspired by Chris’s trip.

He said: “We’ve been working pretty much non-stop for three months to get it done.

“We’re really excited about the construct and the new feel.

“There are a lot of offerings out there but we just feel we’re that little bit different.”

The first Zapatista opened on Ridley Place in 2012 after Chris discovered the idea in London and wanted to bring it to Newcastle.

He explained: “I just loved the concept. I tried it and thought I could improve on it.

“Newcastle lacked a Mexican offering at the time.”

Around £250,000 has been ploughed into the Durham site and Chris is already looking for locations to set up more branches.

Jack Dorian, primed to work behind the counter ahead of the Durham launch on Friday, said: “I’m very excited for the opening.”