The girls and I were driving home from Trader Joes this afternoon ("We found the wooden cat, Mom!") when I noticed Saigon Kitchen at 38th and Div was closed. And then I noticed big white signs in the windows. I immediately pulled over and tooled through the parking lot to get a better look at the signs.
Now, you need to understand that John and I have been eating at Saigon Kitchen since almost the day they opened 15 years ago in the down-at-heel shopping strip that used to stand where the OHSU Richmond clinic is now. It was our family restaurant, where we went for all kinds of celebrations big and small. When Josie was tiny, she and my mom played a game where Josie would be Mama (me) and Grandma would play Daddy and "Daddy" would have to say "Where do you want to eat?" and Jo would answer, "How 'bout Saigon Kitchen, hoonnnney!" We've called it Saigon Kitchen, Honey ever since.
So Saigon Kitchen closing? Big news at our house.
And sure enough, the sign said, and I'm paraphrasing, "To our valued customers: We've enjoyed serving you for the last 15 years but our family is moving on to other ventures. We will be closing at the end of July." (Yeah, I hadn't driven past in a couple of weeks.)
wah!
