When it opens at the corner of East Colfax Avenue and Race Street on May 13, the ninth outpost of the Illegal Pete’s burrito chain hopes to do more than just connect customers with fast-casual Mexican food.

“We want people to know we’re a restaurant that works well in the community,” marketing manager Virgil Dickerson said of the Denver-based company, which had revenues of $17 million last year.

Illegal Pete’s founder Pete Turner, who opened his first location in Boulder in 1995, has developed a reputation as a culture-savvy business owner who provides free meals to touring bands, funds the local Greater Than Collective record label and pays his employees more than $17 an hour.

But along with his ambitious plan to expand to 25 restaurants in Colorado and Arizona by 2020, Turner is trying to make nice with his new neighbors on the eve of his first opening on Colfax.

“There was intent there,” Turner, 43, said of the leased parcel, which unites two bustling stretches of East Colfax heavy on retail, bars and music venues. “We fought hard for that location.”

Turner’s foe? The “giant gorilla” of Starbucks, who Turner is convinced outbid his own $30-per-square-foot deal. But the property owners, the Kentro Group’s Balafas brothers, ultimately rebuffed the coffee company in favor of a smaller, local outfit.

“I’m sure Starbucks is beating the (crap) out of them because they can,” Turner said of his landlords. “But we’d been looking at a Colfax location forever, and I truly dig that iconic building.”

Turner put more than $1.25 million into renovating the A-frame with second-level seating and a new a music stage, extended kitchen, bathrooms and south-facing patio. The property also features 30 parking spots.

“Even if we can’t own the land, we still do a lot with old real estate,” Turner said. “It takes time and money, but I think you end up with a more special product and some immediate history.”

To celebrate the opening, Illegal Pete’s will offer free burritos — the ones its new employees are learning to make — to surrounding businesses, free catering to East High School’s after-prom this weekend and free lunch to East High teachers on Monday.

The 3,500-square-foot building — a former IHOP that was most recently occupied by the 24-hour greasy spoon Mama’s Cafe — is poised to become a hipster landmark for pre- and post-show meetings at walking-distance venues such as the Ogden Theatre, Sie FilmCenter, Lion’s Lair and Bluebird Theater.

“We’re right in the middle of these two killer stretches of East Colfax and we’re seeing those neighborhoods — Cheesman Park to the south, Uptown to the north — starting to gel like South Broadway did around our location there three years ago,” Turner said.

He has good reason to hope for a smooth opening. Turner suffered the most intense criticism of his career over the past two years as his Fort Collins and Tucson locations (his seventh and eighth) were met with student-led protests over the Illegal Pete’s name. Some interpreted it as a joke made at the expense of undocumented Mexican immigrants, which Turner has denied.

“We don’t anticipate that happening on Colfax, as we’ve had a Denver location since 2001,” Dickerson said. “I think any accusations associated with the name were in markets that weren’t as familiar with us.”

The East Colfax location seems poised to appeal to Denver’s exploding millennial population. It arrives with a 21-tap beer system, and its opening-day festivities include live and DJ’d music sets, “free” beer from New Belgium (with a nonprofit donation) and more.

The new location will employ 50-55 people, bringing Illegal Pete’s total employment to roughly 350. It’s a number Turner hopes to double with upcoming locations in Flagstaff and Tempe, Ariz., in 2017, and elsewhere.

“The timing was good with our South Broadway store in Denver, so we’re hoping for similar synergy and feel on East Colfax,” Turner said. “It’s a weird, funky building and a great fit for us.”

John Wenzel: 303-954-1642, jwenzel@denverpost.com or @johnwenzel