Yaku will be history by January.

The poor economy keeps putting the squeeze on local restaurants.

The latest to shut their doors (or scheduled to shut their doors) include Vegetate in Shaw, the  CPK on Connecticut Avenue, Yaku in Arlington, D'Acqua on Pennsylvania Avenue, Savory Cafe in Takoma Park, and Enjera Eritrean Restaurant and Bar in Crystal City.

These victims, some of which promise to be back online in the future, follow in a long line of restaurant funerals this year. Check out this sad list:

• Nathans in Georgetown
• Mark and Orlando's near Dupont Circle
• Farrah Olivia in Old Town
• Le Paradou in Penn Quarter
• Hungry Tiger in Tenleytown
• Napa 1015 on H Street NE
• Jackson's Roasting and Carving Company in Arlington
• La Rue 123 in Fairfax
• Locanda on Capitol Hill
• Olives in downtown

And many many more that I don't have the time or inclination to track down. But on the eve of Thanksgiving, I'd like to say thanks to all of these fallen dining spots. Thanks for filling our stomachs over the years, no matter how well (or poorly) you did the task.

If there's anything that grips Y&H readers, it's tragedy, and it doesn't get much more tragic than the homicide of Nori Amaya, the co-owner of Coppi's Organic on U Street. People were obviously desperate for information on the strangulation. Even our negligible little item was widely visited.

Here's how the week shook out:

1. Nori Amaya's Friends and Fans Express Their Grief on Her Facebook Page
2. A Certain Goddamn Budweiser Beer That People Can't Stop Reading About
   
3. Birch & Barley Opens Today. What's Inside? (This item is quickly entering Select 55 territory.)
   
4. Tom and Derek Brown to Channel Spirits and Iggy Pop at the Passenger
   
5. D'Acqua Shutters, Ping Pong Dim Sum Set to Open Next Month
   

Coming soon to Penn Quarter: Ping Pong Dim Sum

The dining gods giveth. The dining gods taketh away.

Missy Frederick at Washington Business Journal is reporting that D'Acqua, the downtown Italian eatery with the emphasis on fresh seafood, shut its doors for good on Oct. 30. Writes Frederick on her Top Shelf blog today:

I just spoke to [D'Acqua chef/owner Enzo] Febbraro about the closing. He declined to reveal specific numbers, but said that "the landlord got a little too greedy" and asked for a dramatic rent increase on the space. Febbraro wasn't willing to pay it, and decided "to play hardball."

"We're trying to find new location, because we did a good amount of business there," Febbraro said. The new location likely will be a smaller one, he said.

The Verizon Center D'Acqua and Forno will remain open, he said.

Meanwhile, the London-based Ping Pong Dim Sum will open its first U.S. outlet next month in Penn Quarter. According to a press release issued today, the restaurant will be located at 900 7th St. NW, between the Verizon Center and the Washington Convention Center.

Just don't expect to see any carts at this modern dim-sum palace. So says the release:

Unlike most Dim Sum restaurants, there is no Dim Sum cart with its questionable freshness and quality. Ping Pong diners will order their Dim Sum selections from a large menu, and each dish will be freshly prepared to order and brought directly to the table.

So why D.C. for the first U.S. location of Ping Pong Dim Sum, that chain with the cutesy-poo name? (I mean, didn't they know we already have a Ping Pong-related restaurant?)

From the release:

Says Ian Daly, President of Ping Pong Holdings Inc., ”Washington, D.C., with its high levels of education and cosmopolitan character, has become a magnet for international restaurants. We felt it was the right time and place to introduce our concept to the United States and we committed to bringing the same level of high quality food to Chinatown while remaining at an affordable price point.”