These restaurants will replace 2 Raleigh eateries & a Durham spot shuts down
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Saigon Kitchen set to replace former Mofu Shoppe in downtown Raleigh.
- Barley and Burger to open at old David’s Dumplings space on Hillsborough Street.
- Plum Southern Kitchen in Durham to close Sept. 28 after five years in service.
A popular dumpling restaurant in downtown Raleigh may be getting a new tenant.
Signs posted on the windows of the old Mofu Shoppe space announce a new Vietnamese restaurant called Saigon Kitchen.
No phone number, website or social media account was included on the signs, and no recent permit applications have been filed for the property at 321 S. Blount St.
Mofu Shoppe closed in August after eight years in business, The News & Observer previously reported.
“Though we are closing our doors, the memories will linger long after,” Mofu Shoppe wrote in an Instagram post announcing the closure. “Warm, messy, beautiful.”
The founders, Sophia Woo and Sunny Lin, started their restaurant first as a food truck, Pho Nomenal Dumpling. They won the sixth season of the Food Network series “The Great Food Truck Race” and used the prize money to help open the storefront.
In 2020, Woo stepped away from the restaurant, and Matthew Kenner of Bunch of Fives Hospitality became the majority owner.
New restaurant moving into David’s Dumplings
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Another Raleigh restaurant that recently closed, David’s Dumplings and Noodle Bar, will have a new tenant.
Barley and Burger, which has locations in Rocky Mount, Smithfield and Charlotte, is opening at 1900 Hillsborough St. The restaurant offers burgers and craft beer.
Chef David Mao opened David’s 15 years ago in a former Red, Hot & Blue space, though the building was best known for housing a Darryl’s.
David’s Dumplings and Noodle Bar served its last meals in mid-July.
Durham restaurant closes after 5 years
Plum Southern Kitchen & Bar announced it is closing after five years.
“In the past two years Plum and the restaurant industry as a whole, have been deeply impacted by big changes in our town and in our culture,” the restaurant wrote in a social media post. “But eating together will always be critical to Durham. It has been an economic engine of hope and creativity here and we all want that for our future.”
The last day for the restaurant at 501 Washington St. in Durham will be Sunday, Sept. 28.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 2:21 PM with the headline "These restaurants will replace 2 Raleigh eateries & a Durham spot shuts down."
