Maria Empanada is nearly ready to open its East Colfax Avenue location, which has been in the works since 2022. Delays caused at first by COVID-19 and then a long waiting process for permits from the city prolonged the buildout, said owner Lorena Cantarovici. “The building is a bit old, so we also discovered some issues that needed to be addressed before we could move forward, like upgrading the electrical panel,” she added.