Paseo to reopen with same recipes and employees

Just when we thought that the ongoing Paseo closure saga had come to an end, a final installment has arrived.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Paseo is set to reopen with the same famous recipes and employees. The My Ballard team reported the sale of the Paseo assets and name to Pike Place Market Board Member Ryan Santwire earlier this month.

The $91,000 bankruptcy sale included the Paseo name, all of the equipment and everything else that the company owned apart from the famous recipes themselves.

Former owner Lorenzo Lorenzo did not allow the recipes to be included in the court filing confirming that the recipes were always “held by him personally, not the restaurant”.

Many My Ballard readers, although excited about the possibility of the reopening, expressed their disappointment about the absence of the recipes. My Ballard reader Nicole commented on our Facebook page stating that “without the recipes it just isn’t the same Paseo.”

However, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal report, fans need not be disappointed any longer.

The report confirms that Santwire met with several former Paseo employees who had worked in the sandwich store for over eight years and they have come together to recreate the sandwich recipes.

“We’re able to make the exact same food and that’s really what it comes down to,” Santwire told the Puget Sound Business Journal. “We made the food and I said ‘wow, OK, these guys are the right guys.'”

According to the report, Santwire is set on opening the Fremont location as soon as possible and intends to also reopen the Ballard spot. The lawyer for the Ballard location, Marc Stern, has confirmed, however, that his client has been contacted by multiple other people who are interested in leasing the spot.

Santwire confirmed that he decided to buy the business because it is a “Seattle institution.” “The only way I was going to purchase it was if the business was going to be replicated the same way,” Santwire told the Puget Sound Business Journal.

The My Ballard team will update readers with the opening date when it is known.