The District’s only Burmese restaurant, Mandalay, Closing in Shaw Thursday

9th and P St, NW

From Shaw Main Streets:

“MANDALAY RESTAURANT TO CLOSE; NEW ASIAN CONCEPT COMING SOON

Washington, DC’s Mandalay Restaurant will close permanently on Thursday, May 15, 2014, at 8:00 PM. But not for any reason you’d think of.

Aung Myint, chef/owner, is closing the District’s only Burmese restaurant after only eight months due to two deaths in his family causing him to relocate to Burma to manage a family business. “Not only do I have to do this for my family, but there are 600 people who work for the family business. I really have no choice.”

Myint, whose family built and will continue to own the building where the restaurant is located, has chosen his restaurant’s successor, with details to be announced shortly. “It was very important to me to find a new operator and concept that the neighborhood would feel comfortable with, after we were so warmly received by the community,” Myint says. “I couldn’t leave it to a broker after I left the country. The concept will be announced by the new team shortly.”

Mandalay had become a popular neighborhood destination, and was featured in a DC Main Streets Metrobus and Metrorail advertising campaign that can still be seen on the city’s streets. After initially only offering a seven course tasting menu, Myint expanded the restaurant’s offerings to small plates on the ground floor and brunch on weekends. With hundreds of new residents moving to City Market at O and Jefferson Marketplace, Mandalay was set to hit its stride.

Then came the terrible news that two cousins, who ran a 50-year-old family tourism business in Burma, both died of natural causes during the course of a single month. “My family is simply devastated, and no one in Burma is able to step up to the plate and take the reins,” Myint explains.

Mandalay will be serving dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, then closing at 8:00 PM on Thursday for a final staff event.

The original Mandalay Restaurant in Silver Spring, MD, will remain open.”

CityPaper reports that the new Asian concept will be Dim Sum. Updates when they get closer to opening.

Ed. Note: Another popular Burmese restaurant, Burma, closed in December in Chinatown.