After serving Belmont Shore for more than a decade, Thai Gourmet will have its final day of service on Aug. 25.

The closure was announced via a note left on their door, reading:

“We’re sorry to say goodbye. After 11 years of service, we’re sorry to announce that Thai Gourmet by Sri Maya will be closing. Our last day will be on Tuesday, Aug 25. We would like to give a special thanks to all our customers for the support and memories over the years. Thank you!”

The owner, Sri Maya, did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this piece.

Thai Gourmet was Maya’s second Thai restaurant, following an original on Pacific Coast Highway. It arrived with an elevated feel in both vibe and food compared to the nearby, now closed, Phuket Thai and, after its first handful of years, provided the Shore with a measure of stability, at least for a while.

Located on Second Street, arguably Long Beach’s most popular stretch for dining, Thai Gourment becomes one of now numerous restaurants on the street to have closed in recent years, including La Strada, which announced its closure at the end of July, as well as Lasher’s, Papalucci’s, Tavern on 2, Magic Lamp, Babette’s Feast, which soon became O Gourmet, only to have the bakery close after less than a year of operation. The candy shop, known as Rocket Fizz candy, closed up shop in April 2019.

Times in the Shore are rough and cannot be blamed on coronavirus since most of the aforementioned closings came before the pandemic.

The loss of Thai Gourmet is a reflection of that instability. The space it held for 11 years was once the site of revolving restaurant businesses that failed to click. Bigg’s, an attempt at a tapas restaurant to anchor the Shore in self-described “hipness,” was one of the most reviled spaces on the strip, never standing above two stars on Yelp! while being the subject of near-constant vitriol. Then came Vint’s American Grill, which also attempted to capture some coolness with its space, only to find itself shuttered after a year of operation.

Thai Gourmet is located at 4722 E. Second St.