Shalom Beijing closing its doors
Just over the wire today from the Young Israel of Brookline mailing list, Harvard Street’s Shalom Beijing, a local kosher landmark for over ten years, is closing its doors. The last day it will operate as a kosher establishment is Tuesday, July 25.
Most critically, that leaves Boston with no source for kosher sushi. While I would not recommend that Boston’s next kosher venture be another pan-Asian restaurant, I think a nice kosher sushi joint would be a welcome addition.
UPDATE: According to a local resident, the owner and mashgiach have confirmed that “they are going treif after close of business Tuesday night.”
¶
As I said on another thread, I’m not surprised. I never saw anyone in there. Seems like the new ownership couldn’t generate any momentum. No matter what you thought of the place, it’s still a shame, because it leaves us one less kosher option in town.
If they are going treif, I hope that they will drop the “Shalom” from their name!
It also seems the “Beijing” didnt really get them too far.
I therefore suggest renaming it to “Great Treif Egg Rolls”.
Alternatively, “Konichiwa Hunan”
This was the former Shalom Hunan?
It was. Unfortunately, none of us realized that when they changed their name to “Beijing”, they also changed the meaning of “Shalom” from “Hello” to “Goodbye.”
I felt the major differnce was the new owner (since Dec.) was there all the time,but was not as friendly and personable as the previous owner. Albeit, the previous owner was there rarely. When he was there, you knew it and he showed that he appreciated the business!
The biggest change from Hunan to Beijing was no change — i.e. the food stayed bad. I never saw how they could compete with Taam China.
I, too, never saw anyone in there. The place from the outside was not terribly inviting, kosher or not.
This is coming in a bit late. We would take out from there on occasion. The service inside was poor, but take out was quite a good option. There were several dishes we liked better than at the Taam China alternative.
When I called, the person answering the phone announced that they were no longer Kosher, but only after the first two items. Not sure if it was something I said that triggered it, or if he just remembered.
It is now Cafe Zoe - a drive by at lunch time showed it empty.
“It was. Unfortunately, none of us realized that when they changed their name to “Beijing”, they also changed the meaning of “Shalom” from “Hello” to “Goodbye.” ”
ohh that hurt!
Sad, but it seems that unless a venture is supported by the community this is its fate.
Bagelblogger