Even after two decades, Wanna Lei still keeps a photo of herself and her work buddy at a Chinese restaurant in Southeast Portland where she started working as a part-time receptionist the year after immigrating from China. In the photo, she’s wearing a dark green bow tie that matches the color of the restaurant’s exterior.
Now the resident services manager with APANO, Lei experienced a full-circle moment on Thursday when she — no longer wearing the bow tie — attended a grand opening and toured a new affordable housing community that the nonprofit co-developed and that is named after the now-defunct restaurant.
“My first job [was] in Legin Restaurant,” Lei said. “And right now, I’m serving people living in Legin Commons — that’s just a really interesting and amazing thing.”…