Herrera helped to establish all four branches of Anna’s Taqueria before finally deciding to enlist Brush’s support and strike it out on his own.

“We want to be similar to Anna’s, but with a higher level of service and more authentic fare,” Herrera said, noting that he is in the process of fine tuning his recipes.

Brush and Herrera emphasized their plans to create a more authentic Mexican feel inside the restaurant.

“Real Taco’s decor was almost like a Chuck E. Cheese’s,” Brush said of the contemporary decoration of the previous restaurant, which featured angled slashes of color, polished metal accents and a floor of photographed grass.

Brush said that despite the need for a face-lift, the space was a great investment because it is already set up with a fully functional kitchen from its Real Taco days.

The owners plan for the restaurant’s initial hours to be 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., but Herrera and Brush said they intend to apply for a license to operate until 2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Some students said a new Mexican restaurant would be a welcome addition to the Square.

“I’m really excited,” said Julie B. Goldman ’05. “I love Anna’s and I ate there all the time over the summer.”

But others, like Texas resident Renisha A. Nellums ’06, remained skeptical. “This far from the border. It’s not Mexican food,” she said.

“The jury will soon be out on Felipe’s,” DiGiovanni said, “but if people like Anna’s, then they should like this new restaurant.”

—Staff writer Wendy D. Widman can be reached at widman@fas.harvard.edu.