For more than a decade, Boriken was the Portland area’s only full-time Puerto Rican restaurant, a brightly colored oasis of mondongo, mofongo and guava-stuffed pasteles on Southwest Canyon Road.
Those days are now behind us, the Beaverton restaurant announced late last year, with rising food and labor costs to blame.
“Like many small businesses, we faced immense challenges during the pandemic, but we held on, fueled by our love for this place and for all of you,” the restaurant wrote on social media. “Despite our best efforts, the lasting impacts of COVID-19 have made it increasingly difficult to continue.”
When Boriken opened in 2014, customers would travel from as far afield as eastern Oregon or Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington for a taste of owners Awilda Medina Vazquez’ and Samuel Vazquez’ menu.
“There just wasn’t any Puerto Rican restaurants in the area,” Samuel Vazquez told The Oregonian/OregonLive at the time. “Everybody’s always expecting the food to be spicy. I always tell them, ‘This is not Mexican food, it’s Puerto Rican food. It’s not going to burn.’”
While pop-ups, food carts and seasonal floating restaurants have occasionally opened with a handful of Puerto Rican dishes on their menus, Boriken was the only full-time Puerto Rican restaurant in the metro area — and perhaps all of Oregon — for the length of its run.
Beyond its signature mofongos — goblets of fried, mashed plantain cradling roast pork, chicken, steak, veggies or more — Boriken was known for its salt cod fritters, arroz con pollo and mondongo, a hearty tripe stew.
