Downtown Portland pan-Latin restaurant Sal de la Tierra is closed for renovations, aiming to reopen early this summer.

Workers are removing drop ceilings to uncover the Congress Street venue’s original 14-foot ceilings and doing some cosmetic touch-up work to “modernize” the rest of the restaurant.

Co-owner Isai Galvez said work began on the site in mid-March and that he had hoped to have the project wrapped up by May. “But permits and inspections take a while in Portland,” Galvez said. He now estimates the restaurant will be ready by June.

Sal de la Tierra — operated day-to-day by Galvez’s wife, Paola — offers a mix of Puerto Rican, Salvadoran and Mexican cuisines. When Sal de la Tierra reopens, a new chef will be at the helm: Puerto Rico native Jose Martinez, who cooked previously at Stern Seafood in Scarborough. Martinez succeeds Juan Carlos Sanchez, who moved with his family to Lewiston to be pastor of a church.

Galvez said Martinez will be introducing some new Puerto Rican specialties to the menu. In the meantime, the chef has been working with the restaurant’s team and testing out new dishes at its food truck, El Salerito, which is stationed Monday through Saturday at Allspeed Cyclery & Snow on Brighton Avenue.