Popular Japanese restaurant Miso Izakaya will close its doors at 619 Edgewood Ave., in Old Fourth Ward, at the end of this month, according to a post on the restaurant's Facebook page and on owner Guy Wong's personal Instagram account. Wong cited an inability to come to an agreement with the property's owner over a new lease as the reason for the closure. The restaurant's last day of service will be July 28.
“That’s the nature of the business. You have to do what’s right for the business,” Wong said in a telephone interview.
While he did not disclose what the increase in rent would be, he called it “enough that the numbers would not work.”
In addition, Wong stated that there were “issues with the space that wouldn’t allow me to grow.”
Wong opened Miso Izakaya in early 2009. Closing Miso Izakaya is bittersweet, yet he is pleased with its decade-long run. “For a restaurant, 10 years is a pretty long time. I’m just pretty happy I made it that far.”
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Wong stated that he does not intend to move the Miso Izakaya concept to a different location, but he left open the possibility that Miso regulars could see some familiar dishes on the menu of a different concept.
“I love the Old Fourth Ward. There is an opportunity for me to open again in the area. I’d love to do a concept with the possibility of having some signature (Miso) dishes,” he said.
Wong also owns Le Fat in West Midtown and Ton Ton in Ponce City Market. He stated that both of those businesses remain healthy and unchanged.
He is also opening sushi stall Miso Ko in Ponce City Market, which he anticipates launching later this month or in early August.
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