Mi La Cay to close Thursday after serving Seattle's CID since 1993

Mi La Cay, a Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle's Chinatown-International District, will close its doors permanently this Thursday. The establishment, which has served the neighborhood for more than three decades, is shutting down after owners Trinh Ong and Ha Ong decided to step away from the business. Word of the final week has drawn heavy crowds, with lines forming outside the dining room as early as Monday.

The restaurant first opened in 1993 and relocated to its current location in 2016. For many years, it operated as a central hub for diners seeking authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Trinh Ong noted that during the 1990s and early 2000s, fewer dining options existed outside the district. She said people traveled to Chinatown specifically for groceries and meals because it was the primary source for authentic food in the area.

The decision to close stems from a mix of personal and professional factors. Ong cited rising competition from restaurants outside the district, a shift in local foot traffic, and her own health issues. The business also struggled to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Although the siblings kept the restaurant running through the pandemic with just the two of them, customer volume never returned to previous levels. Ong described the current business pace as lacking the previous constant flow of diners.

Conditions in the surrounding neighborhood have also added pressure. Ong pointed to persistent crime and open drug activity near 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street. She observed that while it takes time to build a business, it will take even longer to recover from the current state of the area. Despite these challenges, the owners expressed gratitude to the community for its decades of support.

Trinh Ong described the restaurant as her second home and said the final days have been filled with returning customers. One diner, Alvin, said he and his family have loved the food since their first visit. The Ong family is inviting longtime customers and community members to stop in for one last meal before the restaurant closes for good.

The closure marks the end of a 33-year run for the Ong siblings in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. The restaurant will remain open through Thursday to serve its final group of diners.