After 27 years of dishing out summer rolls, curry chicken puffs, and steaming bowls of pho on Newark Avenue, Saigon Cafe is closing its doors for good. The family-owned Jersey City restaurant will serve its final meal on Sunday, November 22, bringing an abrupt end to a nearly three-decade run that began in 1999.
Kim Le opened Saigon Cafe at 188 Newark Avenue alongside her husband and head chef, Dan Ly, according to Hoboken Girl. The restaurant built its reputation on classic Vietnamese appetizers alongside noodle dishes, soups, curries, and meat-based entrees, becoming a go-to spot for comfort food in the neighborhood. Hoboken Girl recommends trying the Saigon crêpe, vegetable spring rolls, and Phở Gà before the place shuts its doors.
The Announcement and What's Left Unsaid
The closure news arrived quietly on Sunday, November 1, when Saigon Cafe posted the announcement to Instagram. The team described the restaurant as a place where friendships were made, families gathered, memories were shared, and love for Vietnamese food brought people together, per the outlet's report. Neither the reason for the closure nor any plans for a future venture have been shared publicly.
Until the final day, customers can still stop by for one last meal before the kitchen goes dark. For now, the only certainty is the date: November 22 marks the end of an era for a restaurant that has anchored its stretch of Newark Avenue since the turn of the century.
Part of a Wider Wave of North Jersey Closures
Saigon Cafe's exit lands amid a rough stretch for North Jersey's restaurant scene. More than a dozen longtime North Jersey restaurants announced closures in the three months before the end of August 2026, according to Patch. Across the broader New York/Northern New Jersey/Long Island metro area, an estimated 491 restaurants closed in just the first six months of the year, with New Jersey alone recording 213 closings by mid-2026.
Owners cited high rents, rising food costs, and retirement among the reasons behind the recent closures, the outlet reported. Jersey City has already seen several notable casualties this year: Elio's Bakery and Deli shut down in late June after 46 years on the west side of the city, Tony Boloney's closed its Jersey City location for good while keeping its Atlantic City flagship open, and Buddy's closed after a decade in business, with plans to relocate to 187 Warren Street under a new concept.
Whether Saigon Cafe's closure reflects those same pressures remains unknown, since the owners haven't addressed the decision publicly. What's clear is that diners have just a few weeks left to grab one more plate of curry chicken puffs or a bowl of Phở Gà before November 22 arrives and the Newark Avenue storefront goes quiet after 27 years.
