Mi La Cay, a Vietnamese restaurant that has fed Seattle's Little Saigon for 34 years, will close its doors on October 29. The closure ends a run that began in March 1992, when siblings Trinh Ong and Ha Ong opened the restaurant, which became a humble and welcoming establishment serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine.
The closing date was reported by KING5.com, which said Mi La Cay would close after more than three decades in business. Trinh Ong told seattlerefined.com in an earlier interview, “We founded Mi La Cay in March of 1992,” recalling the restaurant's origins with her brother. Ong eventually took the reins alone after Ha Ong stepped back. “Ha and I worked together for a while, until he decided to retire. Now I run the restaurant myself,” she said.
A Humble Spot With a Signature Dish
Mi La Cay built its reputation as what seattlerefined.com described as a humble and welcoming establishment serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine in the unassuming neighborhood of Little Saigon. Its calling card was a hearty house noodle soup loaded with fried shrimp, pork and fried chicken, a dish the Seattle Times called the restaurant's signature offering in a feature on its new home.
That new home came after Mi La Cay was forced to relocate from its original spot at the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Dearborn Street, according to the same Seattle Times report. The owners moved because the property was set to undergo redevelopment as a residential complex. The restaurant landed in a Little Saigon shopping plaza that had previously housed the beloved Malay Satay Hut and, briefly, the Szechuan-Chinese restaurant O'Yeah Asian Food.
A Neighborhood Under Pressure
Mi La Cay's closure arrives as other Little Saigon institutions describe similar strain. The Seattle Times has reported that Seven Stars Pepper Szechwan Restaurant may close, and that both it and Hue Ky Mi Gia have faced low walk-in traffic and safety concerns.
Safety concerns have added to the pressures facing neighborhood businesses.
Shifting Demographics and Rising Costs
Little Saigon's challenges extend beyond any single storefront. Vietcetera has reported that the neighborhood has grappled with a more spread out Vietnamese American population, gentrification in the coveted central location, and a generation of original business owners hitting retirement age. The outlet also noted that changes including new transit connections, large shelters and high-density housing brought additional difficulties for business owners, difficulties that were magnified and multiplied by the pandemic.
Citywide, the restaurant business has only gotten harder. The Puget Sound Business Journal has reported that high operating costs and regulatory changes have put pressure on Seattle's restaurant business. The same outlet noted that chef Brendan McGill closed his last two Seattle concepts in June, citing a lack of foot traffic and rising operating costs.
Other Closures
Other classic Vietnamese delis in the neighborhood, including Seattle Deli, have closed for good. For Mi La Cay, the ending set for Oct. 29 closes a 34-year chapter for one of Little Saigon's longtime kitchens.
