La Luz Mexican Grill is an Old Town Fort Collins favorite and is a must try Mexican restaurant in this robust dining scene. This fantastic local establishment serves up flavorful, made-from-scratch ingredients that produce some of the best fish tacos, burritos and margaritas in town. Opening back in 1997, La Luz has been dishing up Mexican cuisine in Fort Collins for over 20 years. In this week's community connections we had the pleasure of speaking with owner Peter Shultz.

What do you love about Fort Collins?

I have to say I like Fort Collins for the following reasons: the great people, the proximity to nature and the outdoors, the wide-open spaces and Historic Old Town.

What are some of your favorite things to do in Fort Collins? 

My favorite things to do in Fort Collins would be playing in the Poudre Canyon, rafting, biking and hanging out. I love to spend time at the library and the dog parks as well.

What makes La Luz unique?

At La Luz we have a small team that acts more like a family; we are a tight knit team. Teamwork makes the dream work.

What is the story behind how you started La Luz?

Peter Shultz has a funny story about how La Luz came to be: In 1995 I was scouting Colorado for a location for my dream of opening my own restaurant and was considering all the Front Range cities. I hired a local agent to show me around Fort Collins and we toured all the available locations and the very last one was 200 Walnut- our current home. I fell in love with it; Old Town was a tad unpolished at this time. We signed a lease for the space with the understanding that the landlord needed 2 years to renovate the entire building. Long story short, after waiting nearly two years to open, the agent came back to us and said he simply couldn’t make it work. So we were back to the drawing board. I hired a different agent and he took us all over Fort Collins and the last space of the day he showed us was again 200 Walnut, and at that point I knew in my heart this was the right spot for La Luz. We opened a year later.

Tell us about yourself...

I was working in corporate finance in Denver and grew disenchanted. Luckily, there was a guy in the neighborhood with this new restaurant concept, so I quit my corporate job and went to work in the restaurant and six years later opened La Luz.

What do you want visitors to experience at La Luz?

At La Luz we strive to provide our customers a fun casual vibe in a relaxed setting. A community meeting place with great food and a variety of libations.

La Luz Mexican Grill

Address: 200 Walnut St.
Phone: 970-493-1129
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Contact La Luz
Hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 am - 9:00 pm, Friday 7:30 am -10:00 pm, Saturday 8:30 am -10:00 pm
Website: Laluzgrill.com
Instagram: Laluzoldtown
Facebook: @LaLuzGrill