Our rundown of Capitol Hill food and drink openings to look forward to, it turns out, was one short. CHS has learned that Seattle foodie all-stars Deming Maclise and James Weimann are in the midst of a $240,000 build-out in the heart of Pike/Pine.

If all goes according to plan, Poquitos, its bright neon sign and a 1,200 square-foot covered patio will be in place at the corner of Pike and 10th Ave by the end of March.

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According to the @vivapoquitos account, construction began in November on the Mexican themed eatery that will feature elements like a “bartender’s bar” and has them taste-testing items like a Chapulines Mexican Pizza — delicious grasshoppers! We haven’t yet spoken with Maclise or Weimann about the project but the duo behind Ballard’s Bastille have already been chatty via social media outlets.

We did, however, speak with Maclise this summer when he found himself the odd-man out in the tussle over the future of Terra Plata  in the Melrose Market.

At the time, we called the restaurant project Maclise was lining up for Melrose Market a ‘Mexican Bastille.’ Maclise didn’t like that very much. “It’s definitely not going to be a Mexican French place,” Maclise told CHS. “It’s going to be a totally different concept than Bastille.”

Maclise also said at the time he would be teaming with somebody he was worked with at Bastille who will be in charge of operating the restaurant and that his focus is on planning and designing the space. He told us he would be looking for another home on Capitol Hill if the Melrose opportunity didn’t work out.

“Tamara has put a lot of money and time into that space,” Maclise said last summer. “If she ends up getting it, I think that’s great. If she does walk away, I hope both sides are not too injured.”

We reported Monday that Tamara Murphy is now planning to open Terra Plata in summer 2011.

The home Poquitos ended up with may not be Melrose Market but isn’t too shabby. For a time, it was coveted as a new brewpub helmed by Cafe Juanita’s Holly Smith but she reportedly backed out of that plan when she and her partners got a look at the price tag for needed seismic upgrades to the building last year.

1000 East Pike is owned by Hunters Capital and Capitol Hill developer Michael Malone who has shaped much of the most recent transformation of Pike/Pine with his new Broadway Building and recruitment of Elliott Bay Book Co. to make its home in his 10th Ave building.

How Poquitos will put its new space to work and mesh with existing tenants isn’t yet clear. Also making its home inside 1000 East Pike is Havana nestled into the middle ground floor of the building next to the Gary Manuel Aveda Institute. Upstairs, new era marketing firm Creature lurks — no word on what became of Creature’s plans for a huge mural on the eastern side of the building. Somewhere, according to the plans, there will be room for a 1,200 square-foot covered patio and an illuminated Poquitos sign.

One element Maclise told us he was interested in for the Melrose space was a rooftop garden like the space that has drawn so much praise at Bastille. No details yet if Poquitos will incorporate a similar feature above East Pike.

Meanwhile, with Havana, (CHS advertiser) Bimbos and Cha Cha Lounge and Rancho Bravo nearby, Pike/Pine will have a decidedly Latin flavor to it this summer. CHS can almost taste the Tecate now. Expect an increase in ironic pinatas. And, to extend the trend, could the next sweet shop possibly be a panaderia?

Construction schedules on a project of this scale are usually unpredictable but Poquitos is gearing up for a mid-March opening.

You can follow along at http://vivapoquitos.com/