UPDATE: Nava Thai has announced it will remain open until further notice due to an outpouring of support
Popular Wheaton Thai restaurant, Nava Thai, has announced that it will close permanently after Sunday, September 11th. The restaurant, which is located in the old Sir Walter Raleigh building at 11301 Fern St, has been open for approximately 15 years (most of them at the current location). The restaurant temporarily closed back in January 2020 for plumbing maintenance and was supposed to reopen in early March. The closure lasted nearly 11 months, with the restaurant reopening in December 2020.
The restaurant has been a local favorite that has been featured in various publications throughout the years. Below is an excerpt from a 2008 Washingtonian article, highlighting the fandom the restaurant quickly garnered soon after opening in Wheaton.
“every time I go—and I’m up to seven visits now—I’m reminded of what true fandom really looks like. Once it was a woman from Alexandria who said that every week she drives 45 minutes to Wheaton with her family to get her fix of pad Thai, a reminder of the flavors she grew up with in Bangkok. When I said I had yet to order the dish, I might as well have told her I hadn’t paid my income taxes. “Oh, you must,” she said with great seriousness. “You must.”