No Mo’ Loco in NoPo

A crumbling, water-damaged ceiling, a warped perforated with
holes, a basement smelling of mold and sewage: These are things owner
Alberta Canales and her employees say they’ve tolerated at the original
El Burrito Loco in North Portland for the past few years.

The building that houses their business, a bar, and several
apartments is 85 years old, but the staff did the best they could with
their aging space. They managed to survive and thrive for 16
years—and make enough money out of it to open up other
locations—until this week.

El Burrito Loco was forced to close the doors on its original
location because the building’s owner, Siamak Lotfi, declined to renew
the business’ lease. The news depressed Canales.

“It feels like he took 16 years of my life,” Canales says during a
Friday interview with the Mercury at the North Portland
location, a few blocks west of N Interstate, on N Rosa Parks. Canales
slumps forward, leaning her arms on a teal table, as she talks about
the lease situation and the problems that have plagued the location
since Lotfi’s purchase of the building in December 2000. Canales says
she’s been asking for a new lease for a long time but wasn’t offered
one. Lotfi’s lawyer finally sent Canales a letter telling El Burrito
Loco to vacate by the lease’s expiration date: Tuesday, July 31.

Canales says she’s frustrated at how Lotfi has handled maintenance
concerns. She alleges that Lotfi doesn’t fix the building’s problems,
such as the aging plumbing system, until it was too late. (She
describes one alleged incident where he pumped sewage water out of the
restaurant’s basement, which had flooded because of a broken pipe, into
the street. According to city inspection records, the last time any
permit-authorized plumbing work was done in Burrito Loco’s space was
1986.) The apartments above El Burrito Loco make the plumbing a serious
concern for the restaurant; Canales’ son Albert worried leaks would
spill into the dining area and kitchen.

“When it comes to structure and plumbing, that’s [the landlord’s]
duty,” Canales says.

Lotfi could not be reached for comment by press time, but his lawyer
Richard Speight offered an official statement on Lotfi’s behalf.

“He’s not really capable of doing the structural repairs as long as
the building is still occupied,” Speight says, declining to specify why
El Burrito Loco wasn’t offered a new lease.

Kenneth Woods, the proprietor of a tavern that operates out of the
same building as El Burrito Loco, says he hasn’t had any trouble with
Lotfi for repairs.

The N Portland location’s closure means that the only Burrito Loco
still operating will be the one on NE 82nd. Canales says she’d like to
open another one in North Portland, but she hasn’t found an available
property.

“I don’t want to rent from anybody because I don’t want to go
through this again,” Canales says.

Despite the property’s age, its value has increased dramatically
over the past few years. According to Multnomah County, the property’s
market value has more than doubled during Lotfi’s ownership—from
$157,000 in 2000 to $325,000 in 2006.