HONESDALE, PA – For 12 years the Vietnamese restaurant Bà & Me has called Honesdale, PA home, but now will be shutting its doors on June 28 after the landlord served a notice to vacate. 

Businessowner Nhi Mundy made an indelible mark on the culinary scene, bringing homemade noodles, banh mi sandwiches, and dumplings to the original Bà & Me location—a takeout window in Callicoon that opened in 2014. 

Mundy, who was born in Vietnam and moved to Kansas with her family when she was a baby, had been working in New York City in marketing and fashion. After Hurricane Sandy flooded her apartment in 2012, she and her husband, Michael Mundy, began looking for houses upstate and found one in Jeffersonville, ultimately moving in full-time.

Working remotely she felt a certain kind of loneliness now living in the country, and was longing for a sense of community. When she saw the takeout window in Callicoon, she thought, “why not?”

“If a town can open its palate and wallet for a Vietnamese restaurant, then you know there’s [a need for] diversity,” Mundy said.

After the success of opening Bà & Me, she expanded to locations in Honesdale, PA, Mountaindale and Livingston Manor. 

Not only did people enjoy the food, but they felt the welcoming and distinct atmosphere, something that Mundy intentionally created, making spaces that had a certain vibe, illustrative of both Vietnam and the place they were in. 

That also was seen in the menu; Mundy originally offered more traditional Vietnamese dishes but pivoted when she saw what people wanted. 

“The menu is reflective of the region and my American roots,” she said. “It’s an American-Vietnamese hybrid.” 

After years of success, everything changed during the Covid pandemic, and the Mountaindale location closed followed by Livingston Manor and Callicoon. 

“When 2020 hit, it really shook up the industry in many ways,” Mundy said. “One was price point inflation; supplies were all of a sudden 25- 30- 40-percent higher.” 

She also points to people tightening their budgets as they lost their jobs—not being able to afford going out to eat—and a shortage of manpower.

Even after the closures, the Honesdale spot stood strong, offering lunch to the busy business district during the week and influx of tourists during the weekend. 

After closing, Mundy plans to focus on her other work and passions, as publisher and editor of DVEIGHT and Upstate Woman magazines, as well as teaching English at Hunter College and working on a memoir. 

Through it all Bà & Me was a place where Mundy cured her loneliness and made lasting connections. 

“I’ve befriended farmers, famous artists, celebrities and politicians—you name it they’ve walked through my door,” she said. “And that’s what kept me there: the people.”

Bà & Me is located at 1008 Main St, Honesdale, PA 18431. Call 570-352-7213.