Sandwich lovers rejoice, Paseo is reopening soon

Okay Paseo fans, you can officially stop freaking out about the loss of your beloved Cuban sandwich. It’s coming back, and soon.

A federal judge approved the sale of Paseo in bankruptcy court Friday to new owner Ryan Santwire, who tells the The Seattle Times he plans to reopen as soon as possible.

Even better, he promises the sandwich voted among the best in the nation and drew block-long lines on a daily basis will be exactly like it was before original owner Lorenzo Lorenzo suddenly shut it down in September.

Lorenzo had claimed in court documents he never disclosed the original recipes and kept them a secret, and argued they shouldn’t be part of the bankruptcy sale.

But Santwire says copyright law doesn’t usually apply to recipes. And even more important, he tells the Times he’s rehired a team of former Paseo cooks and recreated the iconic sandwich in a secret, all day cookout at the nearby RockCreek seafood restaurant, where he’s an investor.

Santwire says the cooks are actually the ones who made the signature marinades and sauces over the years.

“We got the people, we got the stuff,” Santwire tells the Times. “They’re the same people who’ve been cooking the food for eight years,” he said.

Along with the original cooks and recipes, Santwire says he’s working to reestablish relationships with the suppliers who provided everything from the bread to the meats to replicate the original.

Santwire agreed to pay $91,000 for Paseo in the auction, which will pay off the unpaid wages for more than a dozen workers along with other bills that went unpaid by Lorenzo.

Santwire says he’ll focus for now on getting the original Fremont location up and running, then consider whether to reopen the satellite in Shilshole.