Revered Mexico-Forward Portland Restaurant Republica Has Announced It Will Close

"By way of his newsletter Between Courses, Angel Medina has announced plans to close Portland's revered fine-dining restaurant República in February. Considered the flagship of the local mini-empire República & Co., República also represented an idea-"Mexico-forward'"cuisine, tasting menus with culinary storytelling-that laid the groundwork for a conversation the food world should have had long ago about the way larger culture thinks of Mexican cuisine."

""The Mexican cuisine you celebrate today did not arrive by accident." Medina wrote in the announcement. "It exists because of the labor, memory, and courage of the people in this kitchen; the tortilleras, the tortilleros, the cooks who brought recipes from home, who cooked from nostalgia, from history, from pride. They changed this city's culinary landscape. We simply helped hold the door open.""

"Other ventures and ideas emerged under República and Co.'s broadening umbrella, like the now defunct coffee shops Matutina, Electrica Coffee, and La Perlita, along with De Noche, a small plates restaurant devoted to Mexican cuisine made with hyperlocal ingredients. Over the summer, Dani Morales essentially moved De Noche into República, as she assumed the flagship's executive chef role. Lilia Comedor took over De Noche's former roost in the North Park Blocks, next to Mezcal-focused cocktail lounge Comala,"

República will close in February, ending a flagship Mexico-forward fine-dining presence in Portland. The restaurant foregrounded tasting menus and culinary storytelling that reshaped local perceptions of Mexican cuisine. The cuisine celebrated grew from the labor, memory, and courage of kitchen workers, including tortilleras, tortilleros, and cooks who brought recipes and pride from home. República opened in November 2020 in the Pearl's Ecotrust Building beside La Perlita and later moved to NW 10th. República & Co. expanded into multiple ventures, including coffee shops and De Noche; Dani Morales later moved De Noche into República. Closure reasons cited include decreased demand after Donald Trump's return to the presidency and rising costs.

Read at Portland Mercury