Every year when students return to Georgetown, they are surprised to find a few welcome changes around campus, like the school-spirited crosswalk added on 37th and N Street and the new carpeting in Sellinger Lounge. The closing of Chu’s Café is an adjustment students will not enjoy making.
The quaint and lauded Chinese eatery recently closed its doors on Prospect Street. The family-run café was incredibly popular with locals and students for serving authentic and inexpensive Chinese food, and will be dearly missed.
Many students were disheartened to hear that one of their favorite restaurants shut down. Ian Fahey (COL ’07) looked back fondly on the times spent at Chu’s Café.
”It was special because somehow, little old Mr. Chu, though seemingly alone in the back of the shop, made whole plates of cuisine for the handful of people who would be there … It was like something out of a movie,” said Fahey.
Kate Conway (COL ‘08) said that Chu’s was her favorite place to study for her Chinese exams, an affair her whole Chinese class got involved in.
Jason Hibner (COL ’07) had a more realistic approach to the closing of Chu’s Café.
“I figured the old Chinese couple who were always there owned it for years … I didn’t know it was closing—sad. I assumed they would have to stop soon, though,” he said.
From speaking with Ben Shaw (Col ’08), it sounded like Chu’s Café was never even around.
“I don’t believe Chu’s is gone, I believe it never existed,” Shaw said. “You would go in and order your food, and Mr. Chu would silently glide into the kitchen. There wouldn’t be any noise or pots banging around or anything, and then he would reemerge with your meal. I think the entire thing was a figment of our collective imagination.”
This year, freshman will not be able to enjoy Thursday’s Jasmine Beef over Rice special ($5.75) or the assortment of Mongolian Wraps ($4.50).
We can only hope for the best of luck for the Chu family and for an eventual reincarnation of sorts. As their front door hallmarked, “We made food healthy.”
