Thirty Years After Introducing New Orleanians to Vietnamese Food, Kim Son Will Close

Gretna’s Kim Son Vietnamese restaurant will close after 30 years in business because the lease is up at the longtime chef is seriously ill, Ian McNulty reports. Though no closing date has been chosen, owner Tina Dieu says she expects it to close by the end of June.

The menu at Kim Son predates New Orleans’ love affair with Vietnamese cooking. Since many people in New Orleans weren’t familiar with the cuisine, the owners rounded out the huge menu with more immediately recognizable dishes from the Chinese-American genre of cooking.

“This mix made it easier for newcomers to sample the cuisine, and many locals can trace their first tastes of Vietnamese cooking to its tables,” McNulty says.

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