East Sprague restaurant Vien Dong prepares new home

Vien Dong, a well-known Vietnamese restaurant that has long been located on East Sprague Avenue, closed its doors this month and is moving to a new location.

Nick Au, one of the restaurant’s owners, said the move had been in the works for years. The family that owns the restaurant purchased its new location, 3435 E. Trent Ave., about three years ago. It is the old Crossroads Restaurant at the intersection of Trent and Freya Street.

County parcel records show the Au family purchased the building in August 2014 for $350,000.

“It was time,” Au said. “It was time to stop over there and move over here.”

Au said the recent renovation of East Sprague did not force the restaurant out of the neighborhood.

“The change to the street, it had a positive impact for the restaurant,” he said. Instead, their lease on the space ended and the family decided not to renew it. The building’s owners did not raise their rent, Au said.

Au said he anticipates Vien Dong to reopen in June at the new location. He is currently redesigning the menus, but said the items, which include Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches and pho soup, will remain the same.

Au said he didn’t know how long Vien Dong had been on East Sprague, but said his family had purchased the restaurant about 13 years ago.