This week, Y&H welcomes: North Carolina-based, New York-style Fuel Pizza, which unveiled its first D.C. location at 1606 K Street NW. A second location in Chinatown is currently in the works. Also: the new Town Hall, which has relocated from its original Glover Park location to the former Blue Ridge space at nearby 2340 Wisconsin Ave. NW, and Canyons Burger Company, now open in Judiciary Square. [Burger Days] Then there's this newly titled People's Noodles Bar, the former Saturday night pop-up that has now fully taken over the Señor Chicken space in Columbia Heights. [DCist] Meanwhile, we bid farewell to: Asylum in Adams Morgan. You'll recall that the two-level dive bar had previously relinquished its upstairs space to owner John Andrade's new barbecue and bourbon concept, Smoke & Barrel. Now, it seems, the 'cue is taking over the downstairs area, too. [PoP]

Photo by JamesAlan1986/GNU Free Documentation License

By the time Young & Hungry arrived, shortly before 10:30 p.m., the kitchen had run out of several longstanding staples: the Korean barbecue pork ribs, the Shanghai Filipino spring rolls, and, yes, Tunks' signature Chinese-style smoked lobster. The bar was also sadly depleted. No Asian mojito, for instance. So our table settled for some lamb pot stickers, curried chicken roti, tempura spicy tuna rolls, crispy flounder, a round of beers and, of course, a final platter of fresh sugary doughnuts with chocolate pudding. I can proudly report that we were last table ever served at the restaurant.

We heard some scuttlebutt about the place reopening elsewhere sometime in the future. But Tunks seemed noncommittal. As we departed, Asian warrior statues inside the restaurant had been shrouded in bubble wrap; moving trucks scheduled for morning.

Photos by Chris Shott and Stefanie Gans

Somehow Y&H missed this story when it was originally published, but earlier this month the New York Times' Business section reported that 20,000 U.S. restaurants are expected to close over the next three years. Much of the downsizing is due to a specific mania that affected many during the E-Z Credit Era, namely overbuilding.

Times staffer Andrew Martin reports that the casualties will hit all levels, but that the ax will fall hardest on casual chain restaurants, like Applebee's:

In a recent note to investors, John Glass, an analyst for Morgan Stanley, said the casual dining industry – midrange restaurants like Applebee's – needed to shutter about 1,200 of its roughly 18,000 locations to regain financial health.

"The chain casual dining industry has been overbuilt since 2005," Mr. Glass wrote, noting that was the last year the industry posted positive numbers for customer traffic. "It may take two or more years to reach equilibrium."

Others said the pruning of restaurants would extend beyond casual dining to all types of restaurants. Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Technomic, a Chicago consultancy for the restaurant industry, predicted that more than 20,000 restaurants would close over the next three years.

"I think 20,000 is a minimum," he said. "We probably need more than that. There are a lot of marginal players out there."

Y&H will not shed a tear over losing another Applebee's in the suburban D.C. market, but he fears that this trend will continue to affect even those independent restaurant operators who haven't accumulated a ton of debt. Hate to say it, or even predict it, but look for more of the high-end places like Le Paradou to bite the dust.

Photo by NNECAPA