Lauro Romero Champions Community and His Team at República in Portland

When diners walk into República without a reservation and find out every table is booked for the night, Chef Lauro Romero hears the shock in their voice. “For Mexican food?” he mimics the disbelief that his cuisine could command such popularity. But those are not the people for whom this restaurant was made: Romero and his partners created their restaurants to feed themselves and their community. They even delayed the opening...