Paseo freaks can finally stop fearing a sandwich apocalypse after a new owner announced last week that he will soon reopen the restaurant.

On Dec. 12, a federal judge approved the pending bankruptcy sale, declaring Ballardite, Ryan Santwire, the new owner of Paseo.

Santwire said that the sandwich shop in Fremont will be open as soon as possible, and that he intends to stay true to the old ways of the sandwich glory customers know and love.

Paseo closed abruptly last month after former owner, Lorenzo Lorenzo, filed for bankruptcy in the wake of employees filing a lawsuit against him in September. The employees claimed they were denied bathroom, meal breaks and overtime wages. Lorenzo disputes these claims.

Santwire bought Paseo for $91,000 last week at an auction held in judge’s chambers at the federal courthouse. With the purchase come the name, assets and location, but the recipes for the salsa marinades, mayos and beans will stay with Lorenzo.

Lorenzo objected to including of the recipes in the sale and stated in court documents that he was “the developer and owner of all the recipes,” and that he never disclosed those recipes to staff members.

This is a minor snag for Santwire because he has managed to rehire much of the very skilled Paseo sandwich technicians. In fact, last week they devoted a daylong sandwich-think-tank to meticulously replicate the subtle nuances of Paseo sandwiches like the illustrious Caribbean Roasted Pork (The undisputed “#2”). Testing was done at RockCreek in Fremont and reports say no sandwich was harmed during the stringent regiment needed to find the essence of Paseo goodness.

Santwire reports that the sandwich technicians have conjured the mélange of ingredients needed for the special marinade and sauces many times, and told the Seattle Times, “They’re the same people who’ve been cooking the food for eight years.” Santwire also adamantly contends he will keep the bread, meat and other flavor components the same as before the Cuban Sandwich Crisis occurred.

However, one element will be different than what customers are used to: Santwire plans to keep the sandwich shop open during winter months. Right now his first priority is opening the Fremont location, and once that location is stable the pink shack in Ballard (second Paseo location) in will be back in action.