Launched with reality show winnings, a Raleigh restaurant will close this month
Launched with a reality show triumph, a downtown Raleigh restaurant will close this month.
The popular Blount Street dumpling destination MOFU Shoppe will close its doors for good Saturday, Aug. 30.
The restaurant announced Tuesday, Aug. 5 that it would close after eight years in business, offering fans a chance for a goodbye meal.
The spark that became MOFU Shoppe started as the food truck Pho Nomenal Dumpling, owned by Sophia Woo and Sunny Lin. The pair won the sixth season of the Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race,” using the $50,000 prize to help open their brick and mortar restaurant.
In the closing announcement, the owners called MOFU Shoppe’s run “8 beautifully chaotic years.”
“What started as a food truck grew into something so much more than we imagined,” the post reads. “All due to the community around us & most importantly the folks we have had as part of our team. Everyone who has stepped into these walls has left a significant impact on what we have created. We were lifted by the hospitality industry that raised us and the misfits who made every night worth showing up for.”
MOFU dumplings, menu
The success of the food truck certainly carried over to the downtown streets of Raleigh. Former News & Observer dining critic Greg Cox gave MOFU Shoppe three and a half stars in a 2017 review, praising the restaurant’s chicken wings, beautifully blending Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese techniques, as well as green curry mussels and pork and chive dumplings.
“The menu is as playfully eclectic as the liquid offerings, leaning to Asian flavors but frequently venturing into East-West fusion territory,” Cox wrote.
MOFU Shoppe was short-listed for restaurant of the year in 2018.
Woo stepped away from the restaurant in 2020 and major partner Matthew Kenner of Bunch of Fives Hospitality became the majority owner.
For its final few weeks MOFU Shoppe is planning the return of classic dishes and late night vibes, plus a large bash at the end of the month.
“We hope that you will join us this month to give thanks to this place, this staff, and celebrate 8 years of food and drink,” the owners said.
Raleigh restaurants closing
The closing comes in a tough year for Raleigh restaurants.
Fine dining favorite Mandolin announced it would abruptly close after service Sunday, Aug. 2 night. Before that, longtime Hillsborough Street spot David’s Dumplings and Noodle Bar closed after 15 years.
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 8:05 AM with the headline "Launched with reality show winnings, a Raleigh restaurant will close this month."
