A new Mexican restaurant called Paqui Modern Mexican will open in the old Arrowood location. It’s still a mystery as to why they closed, but the bottom line is that this storefront is going to have a new tenant in its good-sized property, which extends all the way to the corner of NE Sandy and 59th.
Mundos and Mezcaleria
The person behind Paqui Modern Mexican is Andres Mundo, Jr. That “Jr.” indicates there is a senior, and indeed, Andres Mundo Sr. is his dad and has also worked in the restaurant industry. Together, they opened Elixir Mezcaleria in Gresham. In September 2023 in the Outlook, a Pamplin Media property, the Mundos were interviewed about the Mezcaleria and they described it like this:
“Our food is not Mexican, it’s not from any one origin. It’s a mix of South American cultures, with a French influence.” I can imagine this approach to Paqui Modern Mexican, too.
Additionally, Andres worked at and managed Shandong Restaurant for almost 10 years until it sold.
RingSide
Andres Mundo, Sr. has over 30 years of restaurant experience—including that at RingSide, the East Portland location of the famous steakhouse. There, he and Mundo Jr. worked together—he was a sous-chef, and his son worked as a host. Both worked their way up in the restaurants, originally starting as dishwashers.
RingSide used to be the restaurant at the Glendoveer Golf & Tennis club in Hazelwood. The restaurant closed in 2017, and the next year Von Ebert Brewing moved in.
What To Expect at Paqui Modern Mexican
I reached out to Andres Mundo, Jr. and he passed on some details about their plans for the restaurant.
As for the menu, it will resemble what they have offered at Elixir Mezcaleria, but with a little more seafood, more vegetarian/vegan options, less tacos, and less burgers. Plus there will be breakfast.
“The breakfast will be a mix of the classic breakfast items and our favorite Latin American breakfast items,” explained Andres. “Dishes like chilaquiles, carne asada (we’ll be using thin sliced ribeye) with beans, eggs, and tortillas, and huevos rancheros.”
Javi’s?
Andres told me that they were able to meet the owner and family of Javi’s Breakfast Cafe before they signed the contract, while he was dining at Elixir in Gresham. “We let him know that we were looking at the Arrowood spot and that we might be neighbors/competitors,” said Andres.
He continued, “With Portland having a huge breakfast/brunch culture, we don’t feel like we’ll be taking away from them. People will always prefer one dish over the other and we’re just hoping to get into people’s rotation of brunch/dinner spots.”
Live Music
They also plan to have live music from 6pm to 9pm on some days. “We have gotten a ton of requests from musicians wanting to play at Elixir,” said Andres. “But that space is unfortunately too small and we’re hoping we can provide a place for them here.”
They also plan to have outdoor seating, likely in that pandemic-era structure that sits around the corner along NE 59th Avenue by Sandy Blvd. And once they get their bearings, they are hoping to convert and open up the brewery part of the space with a small kids area, “for families to feel more comfortable/able to have a drink,” said Andres. “Similar to Laurelwood and Deschutes.”
Look for them to be open 7-days a week. Breakfast will be served every day from 8am to 2pm. Dinner will be from 2pm to 10pm, and happy hour from 3pm to 6pm daily, starting on Saturday, May 3.
All the best to Andres and his team as they plan to open Paqui Modern Mexican soon!
Paqui Modern Mexican [projected opening May 2, 2025]
5846 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
Updated April 29, 2025.
Meg Cotner
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Thanks for this info…although I am sad about Mike’s business, I’m glad to see someone in this space.
Also, really sad that Arrowood is not coming back. This was our first neighborhood spot after moving to Portland. Best to Mike and the rest of the staff who were all awesome.
Although I look forward to the new place, I wonder where the owners and staff of Arrowood went? They had some nice employees. Hopefully they will come back as something else.
I reached out to them multiple times and… no response. I would love to know the rest of the story here.