Hot Pot and Sushi Restaurant Closes in Dorchester

Van Shabu & Bar (1156 Dorchester Ave., Boston) closed down permanently this week, just five months after completing renovations. The owners of the hot pot and sushi bar will move on to other restaurant projects, per a note on the restaurant’s website.

“We will miss you and hope that you will continue to support us and visit us at our new business venture locations,” the message read.

Owners Karen Diep and her business and life partner Mateo Diep first opened Van Shabu in 2012, taking over a space previously occupied by Nash’s Pub. The restaurant served a wide range of Asian dishes, including hot pot items cooked at the table, ramen, assorted starters like steamed buns and gyoza, and sushi. Van Shabu also served poke bowls, which it referred to as a “healthy sushi salad bowl” on its menu.

The owners made the “difficult decision” to close down the restaurant as they move onto a business partnership with Simon Malls. They are already operating the Noodle Station in Braintree’s South Shore Plaza and will open another one within the Burlington Mall mid-November, serving pho, ramen, and udon.

The Dieps plan to leave the Van Shabu space empty for now — not leased to another restaurant — in order to keep it as a fallback in case the mall partnership doesn’t go as planned.

“We, the family of Van Shabu & Bar, would like to thank everyone for supporting our business for the past 8 wonderful years,” they wrote on the Van Shabu website.

• Dot Ave Eatery Van Shabu Closes its Doors [DR]