Los Burros Supremos, the Submarine Hospitality-backed burrito concept from chef Adán Fausto, will move into the former Kenny & Zuke’s space beneath Portland’s Ace Hotel, the restaurant announced this week.
The prominent downtown Portland dining room has sat empty since Ken Gordon’s longtime deli decamped for the east side in 2022. Kenny & Zuke’s closed its last Portland location last year.
Fausto, a chef with experience at both Michelin-starred restaurants (Daniel in New York, Sons & Daughters in San Francisco) and large corporations (cooking for Apple CEO Tim Cook), moved to Portland in 2021, first making a splash locally as the chef at Güero’s parking lot pop-up Paradise Mariscos, then with Tacos Con Onda, his flour tortilla-loving carne asada taco pop-up.
Los Burros Supremos, which began serving regional burritos from the old Woodsman Tavern last year, has been a relative bright spot for Submarine Hospitality and its parent company, investment firm Sortis Holdings. During a visit earlier this year, Mission- and Norteño-style burritos were flying out of The Woodsman’s side door as fast as Fausto and his team could wrap them.
After a brief closure starting after service on Sunday, March 24, Los Burros Supremos anticipates bringing its burritos, pinto beans, Tejano queso, chips and guac, burro bowls, bottled margaritas and guajillo-spiced Mexican chocolate cookies to the airy corner spot at Southwest 11th Avenue and Harvey Milk Street in early April.
“We are incredibly excited to take this next step in our journey,” Fausto said in a press release announcing the move. “From our humble beginnings as a small burrito window, we have been overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm of our community. We can’t wait to share this exciting new chapter with our guests.”
The move spells the end of Submarine’s involvement in The Woodsman space, a handsome brick building near the original Stumptown cafe that had been scheduled to become La Leñadora, an ambitious restaurant with house nixtamalized tortillas and “a really aggressive agave program.” According to a Sortis spokesperson, that concept could still open in another space.
Los Burros Supremos will leave its original home at The Woodsman Tavern, 4529 S.E. Division St., after service on Sunday, March 24 and reopen in downtown Portland’s former Kenny & Zuke’s space, 1038 S.W. Harvey Milk St., by early April; 503-342-1122; losburrossupremos.com
— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com