Spicies closed this week without notice after serving Thai food in Harvard Square since December 1999.
The space at 24 Holyoke St. now looks set to become the Boston Ramen Co. after the License Commission approved the transfer of a common victualler beer and wine license from Spicies on Aug. 17.
Staff at Spicies was not aware of what was coming, according to a text conversation held in mid-August with a manager. “I have no idea. Let me ask my owner and I will reply to you soon,” the manager said Aug. 14. Five days later, after a conversation with owner Nancy Teng of Rangsiya Global Corp., the next text came: “Yes, I just heard … we are closing up.”
Restaurant staff went on posting cheerfully right up through Sunday, which saw an image of a crispy duck dish posted to Facebook with a suggestion to book a reservation online.
Before a rebranding to Spicies and Thai street food, the restaurant was known as Spice and served Thai cuisine without the “street food” sheen popularized over the past few years. (The “street food” image was not reflected on the restaurant’s storefront, which continued to proclaim it “fine Thai cuisine.”) Panja Lymswan, whose LinkedIn page identifies him as a manager at Spice Thai Cuisine, was co-owner of Spice as well as another Harvard Square eatery serving Thai food called 9Tastes and now called Nine Tastes. He also opened less long-lived eateries in Harvard Square called Shabu Square and Conga, a Latin American tapas restaurant.
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