Perpetually Busy Thai Cafe on Capitol Hill Is Set to Close

Fans of Capitol Hill’s Little Uncle Thai restaurant will have a few more opportunities to squeeze into the small space and order dishes like pad thai and Dungeness crab fried rice before the business shuts down. Owners Poncharee Kounpungchart and Wiley Frank announced on Facebook that they’re moving onto other projects, putting the restaurant space up for sale, and eventually closing — though there’s no timeline for the shutter just yet. The restaurant will remain open while the couple entertains offers from prospective buyers.

Little Uncle has operated a 760-square-foot restaurant at the base of the Mad Flats building (1523 East Madison St. #101) since March 2016. Kounpungchart and Frank previously ran a Little Uncle takeout window just a few steps away, in the space now occupied by Westman’s Bagel and Coffee. Kounpungchart and Frank also operated a much larger sit-down version of Little Uncle in Pioneer Square, but closed that spot in 2015.

According to the Facebook post, Kounpungchart (whose nickname is PK) is enrolled in carpentry school, and her interests are moving away from the restaurant industry. And Frank plans to “pursue other food related avenues.”

Little Uncle is perpetually packed, meaning the next tenant will have (figuratively) big shoes to fill.

• Little Uncle Closing Pioneer Square Location [ESEA]
• Bigger Little Uncle Debuts on Capitol Hill Today at 5 p.m. [ESEA]
• Little Uncle [Official]
• Little Uncle [Facebook]
• All Coverage of Little Uncle [ESEA]