A charming origin story about a mom feeding hungry college kids who later became hungry young professionals, and a passionate customer base that fell in love with those recipes, does not guarantee a happy ending.
Even in the best of times, restaurant operators face a nearly impossible challenge.
In the current market, they need to balance rising rents, increasing labor costs, pricier ingredients, and a financially stressed customer base.
“It’s an incredibly high-cost, low-profit-margin business that, in the best of times, only barely works if you have almost a full house for every meal service that you’re selling,” Sean Kennedy, executive vice president for public affairs at the National Restaurant Association, told Time.
“If you can make that happen, you have a good shot of getting a 3% to 5% profit margin.”
That’s a bleak proposition that may speak to why Hannah and Marian Cheng, the founders of Mimi Cheng’s, which grew from one location into a small New York chain, have opted to close their final location to concentrate on their wholesale business.
Mimi Cheng’s is closing its final restaurant
Hannah and Marian Cheng built their restaurant business around what they learned from their mother, “Mimi.”
“Mimi taught us early: heritage meals aren’t only about recipes. They’re about what you choose to put in them and whom you share them with. She knew what farm-fresh vegetables added to a meal. The difference family-raised chicken makes. What pasture-raised pork brings to something made by hand with real intention,” they shared on their website.
More Restaurants:
- 52-year-old international restaurant chain closing all locations
- 46-year-old casual dining chain closes underperforming locations
- Classic burger chain has closed down all its restaurants
The restaurant part of that dream will soon come to an end as the sisters close their last remaining restaurant.
“Mimi Cheng’s is closing the doors of its East Village restaurant on Friday, September 11, ending a 12-year run as one of New York City’s go-to spots for steamed and fried jiaozi. The shop at 179 Second Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets is the brand’s last remaining brick-and-mortar location in the city, and its team says the closure comes because the lease has ended,” Hoodline.com reported.
Shutterstock
Mimi Cheng’s at a glance
- Mimi Cheng’s was founded in 2014 by sisters Hannah and Marian Cheng, who opened their first location in New York City’s East Village using family dumpling recipes from their mother, Mimi, according to Mimi Cheng’s website.
- The sisters expanded Mimi Cheng’s to multiple New York City locations and became known for handmade Taiwanese-style dumplings and creative collaborations with restaurants including Katz’s Deli, Lucali, and Pizza Loves Emily, reported Time Out.
- Mimi Cheng’s previously closed its Upper West Side location at 309 Amsterdam Ave. in November 2024, saying it was consolidating its restaurants to keep the East Village location as its flagship while building its frozen dumpling business, shared the West Side Rag.
- Its Nolita location at 380 Broome St. also closed, leaving the East Village restaurant as Mimi Cheng’s only brick-and-mortar location before that restaurant’s September 2026 closure, added The Infatuation.
- The brand isn’t shutting down entirely. The sisters are shifting their focus to Mimi Cheng’s frozen dumplings, which are sold at Whole Foods and other retailers nationwide, according to Time Out.
Related: Walmart lands Starbucks rival’s exclusive coffee, energy drinks
What’s next for Mimi Cheng’s?
“Big news: we’re turning the page on a new chapter for Mimi Cheng’s!” the restaurant team shared on its Facebook page.
“Our East Village restaurant will close its doors on September 11th as our lease has come to an end, but this is far from goodbye,” the company added.
The company said the closure is a new beginning as it focuses on its wholesale dumpling business.
“While closing this storefront will be sentimental, it means we get to pour everything into what’s next. We could’ve never imagined that our little dumpling shop would turn into a nationwide frozen dumpling business. Our focus is now scaling, so Mimi Cheng’s can land on a lot more tables than one restaurant ever could. The dumplings aren’t going anywhere. They’re just getting a bigger home,” the Mimi Cheng’s team posted.
The company sells its dumplings through Amazon and at Whole Foods, as well as through other grocery chains nationwide.
Closing the store does not close the door on the company bringing back some of its famous collaborations as a freezer-aisle product.
“[Those] have included pastrami Reuben-inspired dumplings with Katz’s Deli, calzone dumplings with Lucali, and one featuring the famed roast chicken from the NoMad,” Time Out reported.
ALSO READ: McDonald’s cuts a fall favorite for the first time in a decade
