Dao Tien in downtown St. Louis has closed permanently, but Dao Tien Express is now open in Florissant

There were some tasty smells on Olive Street in downtown St. Louis at lunchtime today, but sadly none of them were coming from Dao Tien. That popular Vietnamese restaurant at 820 Olive St. closed its doors last Friday, having occupied that spot since 2018. Fortunately, there’s a second location Dao Tien Express at 728 S. New Florissant Road in Florissant that opened in December 2023. From now on, said Matthew Brannon who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Dao Bui, all efforts will be focused there.

Bui said the closing of the 4,000-square-foot restaurant was to do with a “building foreclosure.” Even though there’s a sign on the window announcing the closure and directing customers to Florissant, people hungry for Dao Tien’s particular brand of Vietnamese food, still tried the door. They hadn’t noticed the absence of tables, the stacks of chairs, the Cheez-Its and bags of chips on the bar – foodstuffs not normally seen in a place beloved for its banh mi and pho.

While the Florissant restaurant is just half the size, Brannon is confident of meeting the demand. All employees from Olive Street are being absorbed into that business. “It’s not a sad story. We’re sad we’re closing, but we’re also very positive,” Brannon said.

Dao Tien Express offers a variety of Vietnamese cuisine, including fried rice, stir-fried noodles, vermicelli, banh mi, salads and more.