Philly’s First Shabu Shabu Restaurant Closes

Philadelphia’s first shabu shabu restaurant, Simply Shabu has closed after a year-and-a-half. The BYOB, owned by the Tuan family, was located at 1023 Cherry Street. Though Simply Shabu was first, Chinatown has seen Hippot Shabu Shabu and Nine Ting open since. The restaurant earned a two-bell review from Craig LaBan last spring, but more recently was temporarily closed for a family vacation, a closure that was extended. Simply Shabu only survived two more weeks after its reopening.

Read the note from the Tuan family:

Dear Customers,

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we are announcing the closing of Simply Shabu. This was an extremely difficult decision for us because we still believe in our vision of a newly-invented hot pot restaurant that focuses on healthy eating and supports local agriculture for a more sustainable future.

Although we are not able to keep the restaurant going, we are still walking away with a lot of successes. In our year and a half of opening, we hope to have had a small impact on your lives whether it be introducing you to a new food experience, challenging you to view shabu in a different way, or creating more awareness about locally sourced food. We have gained a greater appreciation of the restaurant industry and feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with our wonderful employees. As a small family run business, we also had the chance to personally meet customers from all over Philadelphia and the states, and developed lasting relationships with many of our repeat customers.

Thank you to our loyal customers, family, and friends who helped make this restaurant possible. We hope you join us one more time before final closing after dinner on Sunday June 7th.

Sincerely,
The Tuan Family

Simply Shabu [Official]