Capitol Hill’s Perennially Packed Little Uncle Closed Over the Weekend

Nearly three months after announcing its impending demise, Capitol Hill’s Little Uncle Thai restaurant is officially closed.

This summer, owners Poncharee Kounpungchart and Wiley Frank revealed plans to shutter their popular 3-year-old location in order to pursue other projects and interests. The 760-square-foot space was for sale in the interim, but it’s unclear whether a buyer was found.

The tiny eatery debuted at the base of the Mad Flats building (1523 East Madison St. #101) in March 2016, drawing a steady stream of customers for its pad Thai and Dungeness crab fried rice dishes.

According to a Facebook post in July, Kounpungchart (whose nickname is PK) had enrolled in carpentry school, and Frank planned to “pursue other food related avenues.”

The owners hint the Little Uncle brand won’t be gone for good, however.

”You may see Little Uncle out there in the future in the form of books, catering and classes,” says the couple, in a statement to Eater on Sunday, adding “we will certainly channel the Little Uncle spirit through our Bahn Ya property on Vashon Island.”

Kounpungchart and Frank previously ran a Little Uncle takeout window nearby, in the space now occupied by Westman’s Bagel and Coffee. Kounpungchart and Frank also operated a much bigger sit-down version of Little Uncle in Pioneer Square, but closed that spot in 2015.

The couple provided a few additional closing comments to Eater:

“Little Uncle has allowed us to spend the past 9 years exploring Thai cuisine through pop-ups, farmer’s markets, catering of all sizes and shapes, take out windows, to small, medium and large restaurants. We feel that Little Uncle has reached a state of contentedness and being who we are, we ask ourselves, “What is next?” We need to move on and feed our curious minds.”

• Little Uncle Closing Pioneer Square Location [ESEA]
• Perpetually Busy Thai Cafe on Capitol Hill Is Set to Close [ESEA]