Mi & Yu Noodle Bar will close on February 15th after almost eight years in Federal Hill. Owner Edward Kim said he is ready to retire after a long career as a chef and restaurant owner.
At one point Mi & Yu Noodle Bar had four locations. Kim sold The Rotunda location, which is now under new ownership. The location at Mount Vernon Marketplace closed in June of last year. There was also a location in Arlington, Virginia.
Kim told SouthBMore.com he tried selling the Federal Hill location, but he could not find a buyer. He noted The Rotunda location has 100 percent more in sales than the Federal Hill location.
Kim said the Federal Hill location, which was the original location, experienced growth in 2015 t0 2017 and was stagnant in 2018 and 2019, before it “really fell off” in 2020 during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that ramen is more seasonal and tougher to sell in the summer.
Mi & Yu sells customizable noodle bowls including ramen, as well as bao, sandwiches, and Korean wings.
Kim will spend the next year wrapping things up in Baltimore before moving to Mexico for a few years. After that he plans on traveling the world.
Originally from Bronx, New York, Kim took jobs as a chef in Washington, D.C. before moving to Baltimore in 2001 to help open Asian-fusion restaurant Ixia in Mount Vernon. Soon after that he co-owned Soigné in Riverside, took different chef jobs after it closed, and launched Mi & Yu in 2015.
About his career in the kitchen, Kim said, “It was challenging and at times rewarding. It builds a lot of character.” He said in another life he would’ve majored in finance and been a trader on Wall Street.
Mi & Yu Noodle Bar will have a limited menu until it closes.
via https://www.southbmore.com/2023/02/07/mi-yu-noodle-bar-to-close-in-federal-hill/
No comments:
Post a Comment