High River's newest restaurant is still a few weeks from opening up, but it looks like it'll be worth the wait.

Veronica Velazquez and Hector Lopez own the the Rio Alto Mexican Restaurant that's been taking shape on Third Avenue downtown for the last few months.

Velazquez says she knows the excitement is building over their impending opening.

"We are very excited too! We had a few hard moments at the beginning. We worked very hard to rescue the place, but we managed it. People were always stopping by and being very encouraging. We're very glad we moved to High River."

She says the hardest part was fixing the old building, which used to be the Pekisko Trading Company before the flood.

Velazquez says they had to scrub floor boards and ceiling joists by hand to make sure they were perfectly clean.

She says they are thanks to their hard work and the building has been given the stamp of approval from the Province.

The pair say they'll not only serve high end fare, but with their unique brick hearth oven will be able to offer High River residents something they haven't seen in years, a bakery.

"Once you heat it up and warm it up, it can hold heat for three days in a row. And the idea is to be baking and selling the baking, and also marinating meats. We will be marinating chicken, pork and beef and let it cook overnight, just with the heat from the oven."

She says they're going to be a place that's good for families, but will also be a fun spot for the adult crowd as once a month they'll open up the dance floor for Salsa Dancing.

The pair, who've lived in Calgary for the past 17 years since emigrating from Mexico, say they've wanted to open their restaurant in the City, but the timing was never right for them.

Then when it became the right time, they were worried they'd get lost in the crowd of the growing metropolis.

Hector says high rents in the City were also a deterrent.

He says it made more sense to buy a building in High River, where they could stand out from the crowd.

The couple say they expect to open for businesses in mid-April.