Chef Nguyen says the closure is not due to a lack of support, but a personal health battle he can no longer ignore.
SAN ANTONIO — For years, customers watching the kitchen at Noodle Tree in northwest San Antonio often saw the same thing: owner and chef Mike Nguyen doing it all himself.
From prepping ingredients to cooking bowls of ramen and washing dishes, Nguyen has been the heart of the restaurant since it opened off UTSA Boulevard in 2019. On Jan. 11 – the restaurant’s seventh anniversary – Noodle Tree will serve its final bowls.
Nguyen says the closure is not due to a lack of support, but a personal health battle he can no longer ignore.
“Every time we look behind that glass window, that kitchen, it’s him,” said longtime customer Anthony Rivera.
Noodle Tree was Nguyen’s dream, but one he built while quietly fighting an aggressive form of blood cancer. He was diagnosed in March 2018, before the restaurant even opened.
“It’s been a fight since day one,” Nguyen said.
Despite the diagnosis, Nguyen pushed forward, often working long hours. Customers say they never knew what he was dealing with behind the scenes.
“There’s more love in that, you know,” Nguyen said of the work he put into each dish.
It wasn’t until this past summer that Nguyen says the toll on his body became impossible to ignore.
“I tried opening for lunch, and I physically couldn’t do it,” he said. “That’s when I knew something was off. And I kept pushing.”
After speaking with his doctor, Nguyen made the difficult decision to close. He posted about it the day after Christmas on social media.
“I think at that point it’s like, ‘OK, it’s time to rest now,’” he said.
When news of the closure spread, loyal customers filled the restaurant. Many were stopping in to say goodbye.
“It honestly cures the soul,” customer Maria Cabrini said.
“You can really taste the care and love that he puts into each bowl that he makes,” added customer Devin Curry.
Some customers, like Rivera, had been eating Chef Nguyen’s food since he was doing pop-ups at local bars. He even brought his child to the restaurant as an infant.
“It’s going to be sad to see him go,” Rivera said. “But we’ve had our good times.”
While the goodbyes are bittersweet, Nguyen says he’s proud of what he built—not just the food, but the community around it.
“For me, it was a passion,” he said. “It wasn’t more of a job. It was a passion.”
Noodle Tree’s final day of service is Jan. 11. Nguyen asks customers to be patient and to call ahead for large parties.
After closing, Nguyen plans to travel to Japan and focus on his health and recovery.