Daruma Closed???

[sir cooksalot]

Does anyone know what the deal is with Daruma in Bethesda? I went there last Friday a little after 3pm and it was closed. I just called their number and it was disconnected. Ren's is still open but the women there didn't know whether Daruma was closed for good or just for that day. Anyone have thoughts???

[Doh]

Is Ren's still open? We tried to go there for lunch on President's day and it was closed. The silver lining was we tried Aji Nippon instead and had a nice lunch there.

[woodleyparkhound]

Ren's is closed on Mondays.

[gyozagirl]

Ren's is still open, as of this past Tuesday (16th). I'd call ahead just to be sure though, especially if you are coming from farther away.

[Doh]

Thanks gyozagirl and woodleyparkhound. We should have called ahead (we did during one of the snow days and he said he wanted to be open but his supplies hadn't arrived yet).

[heinosuke]

Yes, Daruma is closed. For good. With serious direct (Hinata, Maruichi, and Hana, to name a few) competition, and less significant (international aisle at a number of supermarkets, H-Mart, Lotte) competition in the area, their years of poor service and gross markups are over. They won't be missed by me and many others in the Japanese community.

[enobara]

They were closed for good. There is something suspicious about how they shut up everything without telling anybody, including very close Japanese customers. The lady at the store hinted something like financial trouble.