News

Paseo files for bankruptcy after closing doors

Paseo, a Seattle restaurant that received rave reviews, including the No. 2 ranking on Yelp's top 100 places to eat in the United States, abruptly closed Tuesday.

Both the Ballard and Fremont locations were closed. KIRO 7 learned Thursday that Paseo filed for bankruptcy a day after shutting their doors. Our investigative team is going through court documents.

Paseo was last opened on Sunday. The Ballard location was closed Mondays and the Fremont restaurant had scheduled closures on Sundays and Mondays. 

"Due to unfortunate circumstances, we are closing our doors," a sign on the Ballard location read. "We appreciate all the support and loyalty you have shown us over the years. We will miss you. Thank you, The Paseo Crew."

Restaurant staff have not officially said why the restaurants closed.

In mid-September a lawsuit was filed in King County Superior Court alleging employees were not paid properly and had unfair, discriminatory labor practices. 

Paseo, which had been in Seattle since the 1990s, was run by Lorenzo Lorenzo. His sandwiches were listed among the best in the country by Esquire magazine and Seattle's best by Urbanspoon.com. Paseo's most popular sandwich was the Caribbean Roast: pork shoulder coated in a special marinade and slow-roasted.

Want to talk about the news of the day? Watch free streaming video on the KIRO 7 mobile app and iPad app, and join us here on Facebook.