The building in 2016. Photo credit: Google Maps
A new Mexican restaurant/bar is going to open in a space on SE Belmont Street currently next to Bluto’s, named La Patroncita. It looks to be connected to the people behind the beloved Mexica restaurant, Tortilleria y Tienda De Leon.
If my research is right—NB: my knowledge of conventional Spanish is pretty basic, and slang is pretty nonexistent—“patroncita” is an informal way to call a woman a “boss.” The tagline, “amigas y borracheras,” indicates to me that this is a place to relax with friends and have a drink (or more than one)—and food, of course. If any Spanish-speakers want to correct my clumsy estimation of these phrases, please correct me; I am all ears here.
According to public documents, Lusdivina de Leon and Anthony de Lucia are the folks behind La Patroncita, and as I mentioned above, they are also behind Tortilleria y Tienda De Leon (the salsaslocas.com contact info was also an indicator of the connection), a Mexican restaurant (and grocery) that spent years serving up delicious food near the Portland-Gresham border, and are now in the Reed neighborhood on SE 28th Avenue. Portland Monthly did a nice writeup on them last fall as they were preparing to move.
Their designer put up some sketches of what she envisions the space (at least some parts of it), which you can see below (click to enlarge). I think it’s safe to say that this treatment offers an upscale design aesthetic.
It looks like they plan to be open six days a week (closed on Mondays) with hours consistent through the week: 11am to 10pm. Look for 25 seats in the restaurant and 21 in the lounge area; outdoor seating is not in the plans as of the writing of this article. It is unclear when they plan to open their doors to the public.
Personally, I’m looking forward to checking this place out when it opens. I’ll keep an eye on it.
La Patroncita [opening in 2023]
2832 SE Belmont Street, Portland
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Meg Cotner
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you got the translation spot on. Friends and drinking buddies is the general idea.
Thanks for confirming this. I love languages, and learning more about Spanish is always a positive. Thanks again!