Heirloom Brewshop owners buy Bida Manda in downtown Raleigh

The owners of a downtown Raleigh cafe have bought Bida Manda, the Laotian restaurant and bar at 222 S. Blount St., according to Triangle Food Blog. The blog reported on Friday, October 9, 2026, that Anna and Chuan Tsay, who own Heirloom Brewshop on South West Street, announced this week that they have acquired the restaurant.

For Wake Forest-area diners, Bida Manda is in downtown Raleigh, on South Blount Street across from Moore Square, as CBS17 described its location in January 2024. Neither restaurant’s website mentioned the sale as of October 9, 2026.

What the new owners say they will do

According to Triangle Food Blog, the Tsays thanked Vanvisa Nolintha for making Bida Manda an unforgettable part of Raleigh over the past 14 years. The blog reports that they plan to keep the restaurant running and to listen to and learn from the Bida Manda team, without changing the things regulars have come to love.

The report does not give a price, a closing date or any change to the staff or menu. It names only Bida Manda. It does not say whether the sale includes Brewery Bhavana, the brewery and dim sum restaurant next door at 218 S. Blount St. that the Nolintha family opened with a partner in 2017.

Fourteen years on South Blount Street

Bida Manda opened downtown in 2012 in the former Duck and Dumplings space, according to a WRAL story dated August 30, 2012. Vansana Nolintha, who came to the United States at age 12 with his sister, told WRAL that the name is a Sanskrit phrase meaning “father and mother.” The restaurant’s welcome letter, signed by Vanvisa Nolintha, says the name honors her parents in Laos and the menu draws on family recipes, according to the restaurant’s website.

Ownership and leadership at Bida Manda and its sister brewery have shifted before:

• In March 2017, siblings Vansana (Van) Nolintha and Vanvisa Nolintha and partner Patrick Woodson opened Brewery Bhavana next to Bida Manda, WRAL reported in October 2019.
• Vanvisa Nolintha remained a co-owner of Bida Manda with no management role, and Van Nolintha had divested all ownership, Raleigh Magazine reported on November 18, 2020.
• In January 2024, Yelp named Bida Manda’s pork belly soup the best bowl of soup in North Carolina, CBS17 reported.

Who Anna and Chuan Tsay are

Heirloom opened in October 2018 at 219 S. West St. in Raleigh’s Warehouse District, according to WALTER magazine’s May 2019 profile. That profile and a September 2020 story in Our State named the founders as Chuan Tsay and Anna Phommavong, a husband-and-wife team. Triangle Food Blog now identifies her as Anna Tsay.

Both founders grew up in restaurant families. Tsay’s parents came from Taiwan and ran restaurants in the Southeast, mostly around Asheboro, and Phommavong grew up near a Laotian immigrant community in High Point, Our State reported. The magazine described Heirloom’s menu as a blend of Taiwanese and Laotian influences. WALTER reported that both founders worked as designers before opening the shop.

Heirloom now describes itself as a cozy cafe and eatery with dishes inspired by Southeast Asian flavors, serving brunch, lunch and dinner with coffee, matcha, beer, wine and cocktails, according to its website. Its phone number is 919-594-7029.

Hours and location

Bida Manda is at 222 S. Blount St., Raleigh, NC 27601. It is open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, and its phone number is 919-829-9999, according to the restaurant’s website. Brewery Bhavana, next door, opens daily at 11:30 a.m., according to its website.