Papi a new Puerto Rican restaurant in the heart of the Old Port in Portland just ran into some Portland policy.

I have been excited about the new Puerto Rican restaurant Papi since an announcement was made late last summer. It's a mix of Chef Ronnie Medlock and his childhood memories and Beverage Director LyAnna Sanabria. One thing they wanted to do was have their new space reflect Puerto Rico's rich culture. These antique mahogany doors with the wrought iron trim are from Old San Juan and seemed perfect.

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TownsquareMedia
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These are much different from the doors of the old LuLu Lemon where Papi is now located.

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GoogleMaps
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It also is very complimentary to the whole vibe of the gorgeous new restaurant.

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Papi Portland Facebook
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But Portland has a problem with the doors and they need to go. According to the Portland Press Herald, they weren't approved by the city's historic preservation office. The Old Port is one of 12 historic districts in the city and the doors don't meet the historic standards and they need to be removed by Labor Day. Evan Schueckler, the city’s historic preservation program manager, told the Press Herald,

They’re much more ornate and have a different shape than the doors that would have originally been on that building. They’re sort of creating what we would call a false sense of history, where they’re trying to represent a design and historic character for that building that isn’t authentic to it.

BREAKING - As you can imagine, this isn't sitting well with some people in the area. Good for the Portland Press Herald, late Monday, April 24, Portland has said they will 'reconsider' the decision to make them take the doors down. The press made some waves, and kudos to Portland for recognizing that a couple of doors might not be the sword you want to fall on.  Many within the City Council were upset with the decision. As one pointed out, show me historical accuracy in the Old Port. The doors will stay for now.

This is the right decision to reconsider the decision. Kudos to Portland, the Press Heralds the fans of different culture coming to Portland.

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