2 Duck Goose Won’t Be ‘It’ For Time Being, Plans 2016 Re-Opening

Cantonese restaurant 2 Duck Goose (400 4th Avenue at 6th Street) has announced a temporarily closing, and it could be the last time you taste their Char Sui Pork, Cantonese Roast Duck, or “Paper Bag Fish.”

According to founder/partner Kay Ch’ien, she is focusing on “re-working the concept” of the restaurant and plans to re-open in Spring 2016.

The restaurant opened in July 2014, with partners Chef Ben Pope — a Hong Kong native along with Ch’ien) and friend Alex Bacu.

Eater reported that Ch’ien will be searching for that new concept in Asia, as she plans to travel in Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong (Ch’ien’s home town). “I really loved our food, and I was really proud of our food,” she tells Eater. “Ultimately, I felt like it wasn’t exactly what the neighborhood wanted.”

In addition to the type of cuisine that will be served, there will be a new chef at the helm. Carole Greenwood — the restaurant’s second chef in their short history — will not be returning.

Also in question is whether the restaurant will retain its name. Savannah Lawandales of Hall PR explains that Ch’ien “is reopening in the spring to give some distance between the two concepts.”

2 Duck Goose had announced in early November that it would begin serving brunch, so it seems sudden to put the restaurant on hiatus so soon after their new offering.

The restaurant received several excellent reviews after it opened, including a September 2014 call-out from Brooklyn Magazine that said, “so it just might be a new, welcome addition to the high-rise addled sprawl of Fourth Avenue that finally sets the wheels in motion, for a full-on, borough-wide, elevated Chinese food renaissance.”

We’ll get back to you about Ch’ien’s next steps, an opening date, and the focus of the new menu in 2016.