James Island Mexican mainstay Zia Taqueria will officially make its move across the street Tues., June 29, when it will open in the 1939 Maybank Highway space previously occupied by Athens Restaurant & Grill. After announcing the move in February, chef/owner Kevin Grant has spent the last four months finalizing renovations at the 4,600-square-foot restaurant that will seat 85 people inside and another 45 outdoors on its patio.
“All the renovations have come out really well,” Grant said. “We’ve established a whole new bar and torn out a couple walls to make the flow and function better. Our dining room feels like an open air patio in a way with really big windows and high ceilings.”
The biggest change customers will notice will be the addition of a full waitstaff — at the old location, patrons would place orders at the bar.
“We’ve been very excited about going full service — our customers have been asking for it for a long time,” Grant said, adding that he plans to roll out some new menu items once they settle into the space. “Now that we’re all back in one building, it’s going to be a lot easier for me to start working on these recipes. We’ll probably just start running them as specials and see what people like the most.”
Zia Taqueria is open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. For more information, visit ziataco.com.
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