This new Meridian sports bar — a quick-service restaurant, too — went ‘above and beyond’
Tacos, tequila and an eye-popping sports screen.
That will be the formula at south Meridian’s new Metztli Sports Bar & Taqueria, which is on track to open by the end of February. Located in recent construction at Firenze Plaza — at the intersection of Eagle and Amity roads— it will be a second location for the Idaho brand.
Small but stylish, Metztli Mexican Taqueria debuted about two and a half years ago at 1735 W. Chinden Blvd. in Meridian. The expansion at 3106 E. Amity Road is a different take on the concept, owner Oskar Pedraza said, since it’s a sports bar and assembly-line quick-service restaurant.
He compared the taco-building experience to visiting a Costa Vida or Cafe Rio. “You walk up, you order your protein and what you want. You go down the line — lettuce, tomatoes, whatever you want — then you pay, sit down.”
Metztli Sports Bar will offer a traditional array of taco options — plus birria, of course. “That’s a must,” he said. “The trend’s right now with the birria.”
Mexican beers will flow, but so will boozy cocktails. Metztli Sports Bar will have a full liquor license.
Behind the bar will be the room’s bright focal point — a large LED video-wall screen. It’s similar to what you might see at a live-music event, says Pedraza, who also owns Colombia Event Center in Caldwell.
Except it will show sports.
“I love production,” Pedraza explained, adding that the panel-screen is “pretty unique. Something not really seen in any sports bar here — at least a locally owned one.”
The new Metztli will hold nearly 90 patrons. If all goes according to plan, the bar could welcome customers inside within days, he said.
Running the original Metztli taqueria has “been fun,” said Pedraza, who also owns El Tenampa Mexican restaurants in Boise and Meridian.
But his soon-to-open Metztli Sports Bar?
“The bar is truly — I think we went above and beyond,” he said.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM.