The Town of Vienna is now down to just one mochi donut shop.
Donutchew closed permanently last week after just over two years at 107 Maple Avenue West, serving its final customers on Thursday, Aug. 22. Though some customers got wind of the closure earlier, it wasn’t announced on social media until that evening.
The decision was made “with much regret and sadness,” Donutchew Vienna’s management said in a message posted on Facebook and the store’s front door.
After much consideration, we have decided to close our business. This journey has been one of immense learning and growth, but despite our best efforts, there was no other way forward. We want to take this moment to thank every customer who has been part of our story. Your support and engagement meant the world to us.
The Facebook post includes messages from customers who expressed appreciation for the business and support for the team on its “next journey,” as one card said.
Franchisee Roongnapa Kaewprasit opened Donutchew in Vienna in July 2022, taking over a former Starbucks. The shop served a variety of donut flavors as well as croffles, macarons, and milk and fruit teas.
Donutchew regularly participated in community events, like Vienna Restaurant Week and the annual ViVa Vienna festival.
The chain, which previously had stalls in Tysons Corner Center and Annandale’s K-Market International, can still be found in Fair Oaks Mall. It’s also “coming soon” to D.C., per Donutchew Vienna’s message, though the exact location isn’t specified.
Vienna-based fans of the chewy rice flour-based mochi donuts can still get their fix at Bubble Mochi, which launched at 155B Maple Avenue West just months before Donutchew arrived.
Donutchew’s owners are in the process of transferring their lease to “another operator,” but details on the new tenant aren’t available yet because the agreement hasn’t been completed, according to Maple Center property owner TSCG.
The remaining occupants of the small retail strip at the corner of Maple Avenue and Center Street are the Chinese restaurant Peking Express and the tanning salon Palm Beach Tan. A 1,323-square-foot space remains available after longtime occupant Edible Arrangements closed earlier this year.
The Maple Center parking lot is in the process of getting “repaved and restriped…along with some planned updated landscaping,” TSCG told FFXnow. Despite the construction work, some customers still popped into Peking Express yesterday (Wednesday) around lunchtime.
The parking lot work “should be finished this week,” TSCG said.
