Soup dumpling fans in the avenues will have to find a new go-to spot: after eight years in business, the popular Dumpling Kitchen has called it quits at 1935 Taraval St.

"Thank you for the many years of business and support," writes owner Rebecca Yu in a note posted to its window and Yelp page. "It has been a pleasure to serve you."

The note adds that the official closure date was February 1, and that Yu is planning to retire. 

Specializing in Shanghainese cuisine, Dumpling Kitchen was known for its xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings, and shengjian, fried soup dumpling buns. It regularly drew lines out the door of dumpling-seeking patrons. 

Aside from Yu's retirement, the restaurant's closure may have been attributable to issues with its space. Back in 2017, Dumpling Kitchen filed a change-of-use permit request to move to a former nail salon about eight blocks away, at 1123 Taraval St. 

The space at 1123 Taraval is significantly smaller than Dumpling Kitchen's current one, but the change-of-use application notes that the project "attempts to keep the existing business in the neighborhood ... restaurant is owned by a local Parkside resident." 

That application appears to have been approved in late 2018, according to city records. It remains unclear whether Dumpling Kitchen will return in the new Taraval space, or if Yu has decided to retire and abandon the project.

Hoodline attempted to reach out to both the business and to Yu directly to clarify the situation. There was no answer at either phone number, both of which lacked answering machines. We've also attempted to contact the architect on the project for further details. 

We'll update this story with more information if and when it becomes available.