A notice that says closing to renovate does not always mean the place is coming back.
Datang Hot Pot, the self-serve malatang spot at Leslie Road in Richmond, has shut down for good.
Back in mid-May, Datang sent a text blast to its customers saying it was closing for renovations.
In this city, closing to renovate is sometimes code for closing for good.
That gap between a renovation promise and a permanent goodbye is exactly why we sat on it instead of calling it right away.
So we kept an eye on it.
Last week we walked past the unit and peeked through the window.
The wallpaper had been torn down and the chairs were stacked up against the glass.
That could still have been a renovation mid-swing, so we held off on calling it.
Then this week, in early June, we walked by again, and the entire Datang sign was GONE.
We asked a worker out front whether the restaurant was changing hands, and he nodded.
He did not say what is taking over, only that the space is turning over.
That is the confirmation. Another Richmond hot pot spot is officially done.
The timing stings a little because Datang barely got going.
It only soft-opened in March 2025, which means it lasted just over a year.
It moved into the former Blue Whale unit, the same Leslie Road space that had Hipanda Hotpot signage up in late 2024 before Datang took it instead.
That corner has churned through names, and Datang is now the latest to cycle out.
The whole draw here was that self-serve malatang setup.
You grabbed a bowl and tongs, walked a wall of more than 100 fresh ingredients, and paid by weight.
From there you could build across six broth bases and eight seasoning blends for more than 50 broth combinations, with Xi’an-style Chinese burgers, skewers, and a self-serve ice cream station rounding it out.
It was an ambitious amount of choice for a unit this size, and clearly a tough one to keep running.
Richmond is not short on hot pot, and the fight for the self-serve malatang crowd is a crowded one.
In that race around here, this leaves Big Way out front as the concept’s clear local leader.
And the Leslie Road unit is not staying dark for long.
Another concept is already in progress to take over a space that has been difficult to hold onto.
So the lights will come back on, just not for malatang.
Datang joins a run of recent Richmond closures that includes Miku at River Rock, Pepper Lunch, and Hey Yearn.
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Address: 8140 Leslie Road, Richmond