Mi Mero Mole
Mi Mero Mole was a Portland, Oregon Mexican restaurant known for guisados, moles, tacos, burritos, and quesadillas.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Mi Mero Mole was a Mexican restaurant brand based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded by Nick Zukin, the restaurant began in 2011 on Division Street in the Richmond neighborhood of southeast Portland. Its menu focused on Mexican comfort food and regional-style preparations, including burritos, guisados, moles, quesadillas, tacos, and house-made tortillas. Weekday breakfast was also offered by 2019. The business expanded beyond its original location when Zukin opened a second restaurant in Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in 2014. For a period, the two locations gave Mi Mero Mole a presence in both a southeast Portland residential and commercial district and the city's central historic core. The brand's offer emphasized prepared dishes and fillings rather than a narrowly limited taco menu, with guisados and moles serving as particularly identifiable parts of its culinary proposition. Mi Mero Mole attracted local recognition. In 2018, it won the guisados category in Michael Russell's list for The Oregonian of the best tacos within reach of downtown Portland. The restaurant also became associated with an all-you-can-eat taco offer; by 2016, the reported record was 14 tacos. It had a local following that included the Unipiper, a Portland street performer and cultural figure. The original Division Street restaurant closed in 2017. The Old Town Chinatown location remained the brand's final operating site. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mi Mero Mole shifted to pickup and delivery service, but Zukin later estimated that business had fallen by as much as 80 percent. The remaining restaurant closed on July 3, 2020. Mi Mero Mole is therefore a defunct local restaurant brand rather than an active national chain. Public reference material does not establish a continuing corporate owner, a successor brand, or an official current website.
History
Mi Mero Mole was established in Portland, Oregon, in 2011 by Nick Zukin. The first restaurant opened on Division Street in the Richmond neighborhood of southeast Portland. Its identity was built around Mexican cuisine, particularly substantial prepared dishes such as guisados and moles, alongside more familiar restaurant offerings including burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and tortillas. By 2019, the restaurant also served breakfast on weekdays. The brand expanded in 2014 when Zukin opened a second location in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. This gave Mi Mero Mole a broader Portland footprint and placed one location closer to the city's downtown visitor and business areas. The original Division Street restaurant later closed in 2017, making the Old Town Chinatown restaurant the brand's sole remaining location. Mi Mero Mole developed a local reputation through both its menu and promotional format. It offered an all-you-can-eat taco option, and the reported record for the most tacos consumed under that offer was 14 as of 2016. The restaurant's food received external recognition in 2018, when it won the guisados category in Michael Russell's selection for The Oregonian of the best tacos within reach of downtown Portland. The business was also identified as a favorite of the Unipiper, a distinctive Portland performer, as of 2020. The restaurant's final period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting disruption to the United States restaurant industry. By April 2020, Mi Mero Mole was operating through pickup and delivery rather than ordinary full-service trade. Zukin estimated that sales or business activity had declined by as much as 80 percent during the pandemic. The Old Town Chinatown restaurant closed on July 3, 2020, bringing the brand's operating history to an end. Zukin also received media attention for controversial social-media interactions. The available reference material identifies this aspect of the brand's public profile but does not provide enough detail to reliably summarize individual posts, disputes, or outcomes. No reliable information in the supplied material establishes a successor company, a continuing retail presence, a current owner after closure, or a current official website.
- 2020
Operations shift to pickup and delivery
[1]The restaurant used pickup and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2020
Final location closes
[1]The Old Town Chinatown restaurant closed on July 3, 2020.
- 2018
Recognized for guisados by The Oregonian
[1]Mi Mero Mole won the guisados category in a local best-tacos ranking by Michael Russell of The Oregonian.
- 2017
Original Division restaurant closes
[1]The first Mi Mero Mole location ceased operations.
- 2014
Second location opens in Old Town Chinatown
[1]The brand expanded to a second Portland location in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood.
- 2011
First restaurant opens on Division Street
[1]Nick Zukin opened the original Mi Mero Mole in Portland's Richmond neighborhood.
Products and positioning
A Portland Mexican restaurant centered on hearty prepared dishes, guisados, moles, tacos, and other made-to-order Mexican foods, with a strong local and neighborhood identity.
Mexican prepared dishes · 2011
Guisados
Guisados were a central part of Mi Mero Mole's culinary identity: hearty Mexican stewed or prepared dishes served as substantial meal components. The category was important enough to receive recognition in The Oregonian's 2018 ranking of Portland-area tacos, where Mi Mero Mole won the guisados category.
Mexican sauces and dishes · 2011
Moles
Mole dishes formed part of the restaurant's Mexican menu alongside guisados, tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. The available reference identifies moles as a regular menu category but does not specify individual recipes, regional styles, or a separately branded product line.
Mexican food · 2011
Tacos
Mi Mero Mole served tacos as one of its principal offerings and operated an all-you-can-eat taco promotion. The promotion became a notable feature of the restaurant, with a reported consumption record of 14 tacos as of 2016.
Mexican food · 2011
Burritos and quesadillas
Burritos and quesadillas were part of the restaurant's broader made-to-order Mexican menu. They complemented the guisados, moles, tacos, and tortillas that defined the brand's everyday offering.
Restaurant service
Weekday breakfast
By 2019, Mi Mero Mole offered breakfast on weekdays in addition to its principal Mexican lunch and dinner menu. The available reference does not specify the breakfast dishes or the date on which the service began.
Controversies
Controversial social-media interactions involving the owner
Nick Zukin received media attention for controversial social-media interactions while associated with Mi Mero Mole. The supplied reference does not provide enough verified detail about the specific interactions, their timing, or any formal consequences.
Brand decisions
2020
Shift to pickup and delivery during COVID-19StrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic sharply disrupted restaurant operations and reduced customer traffic.
Action taken
The remaining restaurant operated through pickup and delivery by April 2020.
Aftermath
Zukin estimated that business had declined by as much as 80 percent, and the final location closed on July 3, 2020.
Estimated business reduction. Up to 80% reduction (During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020)
2020
Closure of the remaining restaurantOtherBackground
The Old Town Chinatown location was the brand's only remaining restaurant after the Division Street site closed in 2017.
Action taken
Mi Mero Mole closed its final location on July 3, 2020.
Aftermath
The restaurant brand became defunct.
2014
Expansion to a second Portland locationStrategyBackground
After operating its original Division Street restaurant, Mi Mero Mole pursued a local expansion strategy.
Action taken
Nick Zukin opened a second location in Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood.
Aftermath
The brand operated two locations until the Division Street restaurant closed in 2017.
Sources1 sources
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