HONESDALE, PA – Bà & Me, a Vietnamese restaurant in Honesdale, will be closing its doors after 12 years in business.
Nhi Mundy, owner and chef at Bà & Me, had announced in February plans to close the business later in the summer, but the building landlord served her a notice to vacate at the end of June, speeding up the timeline.
The decision to close the restaurant was bittersweet, says Mundy.
She felt it was time to focus on other creative interests that she hadn’t been able to dig into while running the restaurant. Mundy’s also the publisher and editor of DVEIGHT Magazine and Upstate Woman, two arts and culture publications covering upstate New York.
Bà & Me’s early days started as a tiny takeout window along Upper Main Street in Callicoon.
“I was at the farmers market in Callicoon, and it was there in Callicoon that I saw this small takeout window, and the idea just burst in my head,” said Mundy. “I was like, ‘I can make a Vietnamese restaurant.’”
Bà & Me soon became a local favorite in the Catskills and northeast Pennsylvania, where there were few Asian and ethnically diverse food options in the region.
“When we opened the takeout restaurant in Callicoon, the first day, the first week, the first month – there were lines all the way down the block, so that created an idea in my mind that there was certainly a need for this type of food in the region.”
The restaurant opened up locations in Callicoon, Livingston Manor, and Mountaindale, along with its flagship restaurant in Main Street in Honesdale, over the past decade, serving Vietnamese classics like banh mis and pho soup to customers over the years.
Mundy hopes she’s left a lasting legacy in the towns Bà & Me has served. She says she’s especially going to miss the community she’s built.
“Throughout the years, I’ve accumulated many individuals who I call my family, who I still keep in touch with and catch up with lunch and coffee,” said Mundy. “You know who you are. I love you guy, and thank you so much for supporting me an dowrking with me throughout these years.”
Bà & Me plans to close on Sunday, June 28.
Image: Exterior of Bà & Me restaurant in Honesdale, Pennsylvania (Photo Credit: Bà & Me)