A Return to What Matters

A Message from República & Co. Hospitality

Apr 05, 2026

After bidding farewell to its celebrated fine-dining chapter, República reopens as a daytime eatery rooted in Mexico's most essential foods: corn, fire, patience, and the seasons — with Chef Hannah-Ruth Joy at the helm.

There is a particular kind of honesty in the foods that have endured for centuries. In blue corn ground on stone. In mole that asks for hours before it asks for anything else. In the masa that holds a tetela together, warm and yielding in your hands. These are not simple foods; they are foundational ones, and they are the reason República has come back.

On Sunday, March 8th, 2026, República quietly closed the chapter on its acclaimed fine-dining tenure — four years of work that redefined what “Mexico-forward” could look like in the Pacific Northwest. It was not an ending so much as an exhale. The hospitality family’s other ventures, Lilia Comedor and Bar Comala, continue that vision today: hyper-seasonal, mezcal-anchored, and rooted in place. Both remain open at 422 NW 8th Avenue.

What has returned — quietly, and with great conviction — is República in a different register. The same spirit now opens its doors during the day as a casual daytime eatery drawing from Mexico’s most elemental culinary traditions. The menu is an act of devotion: tacos de guisados, pozole, champurrado, handmade tortillas, pan dulce, quesadillas, pastes, and tetelas formed from blue corn masa. Pour-over coffees from the house roasting brand, Reforma Roasters, complete the morning–hand-brewed by Medina himself. These dishes arrive plated with the same precision and intentionality that has always defined República’s kitchen — because the history behind them demands nothing less.

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"The fundamentals are not the beginning of the conversation; they are the whole conversation. Corn, fire, patience, and what the season gives you. These foods carry centuries of knowledge and sacrifice. To serve them here, in this way, is not basic. It is an act of respect, and a reminder that the most profound things rarely announce themselves."

— Angel Medina, Founder, República Hospitality

For those wishing to explore the full breadth of what this new chapter offers, República daytime also presents a chef’s choice brunch tasting menu — a weekly-changing sequence of dishes shaped entirely by the season and whatever the farmers market yielded that morning. It is an invitation to be surprised, and to trust the kitchen.

Guiding that kitchen is Chef Hannah-Ruth Joy, who steps into the role of Chef de Cuisine with a résumé that spans continents and Michelin stars. Her career includes CDC and sous chef roles at some of the most lauded establishments in the world — among them Nico’s in Hawaii and the Michelin-recognized Manzano Hospitality group in Spain, whose portfolio spans Gloria, La Salgar, and Catering Manzano. Closer to home, Portland diners may recognize her name from celebrated stops at Kann and the late, beloved Quaintrelle. For Joy, this appointment carries a particular resonance: she previously served as sous chef at Lilia Comedor alongside Chef Juan Gomez. Her return to the Republica Hospitality family, now leading the daytime kitchen, feels less like a new chapter than a homecoming.

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"Coming back to República is really like coming home. I love the food. República comes from the Latin word res publica, which means the peoples matter, and I think that's really representative of what the company is and what I am, and that is that I am for the people. I am for the people who press the tortillas and wash the dishes and water the glasses at the table. I am for the people who eat the food and enjoy the atmosphere and join us at our table because at the end of the day. It is all of us together that are making the experience.”

— Chef Hannah-Ruth, Chef de Cuisine, República

This is República returning to itself; with the hands and heart to carry it forward.