Bangkok Market, the Thai pop-up eatery on Woodstock’s Dixon Avenue that said it drew 3 ½-hour wait times when it opened July 10 for a month-long run, shut down 12 days early last week after running into financial and staffing difficulties.
Award-winning Brooklyn chef Elizabeth Calvo, who was born in Thailand, said on Wednesday morning that it would close for the day because it was short-staffed. By 4 p.m. that day, July 29, Phoenicia Diner, which bought the site of the former Dixon Roadside and Gypsy Wolf restaurants in 2016, decided to shut it down for good.
“There were some operational difficulties that weren’t resolving,” said Courtney Malsatzki, the diner’s director of operations. “On Wednesday, when there wasn’t enough staff to open, it solidified that it wasn’t really working from a financial standpoint.”
The location, next door to the new Woodstock Library and not far from the Bearsville Theater on Route 212, has been something of a black spot for restaurateurs since the Gypsy Wolf Cantina shut down in 2014 after 25 years. Dixon Roadside closed in October 2023 after four years. The following May, Cheez-It ran a week-long pop-up at the site that had customers waiting in line for up to 10 hours for a menu that incorporated the ubiquitous crackers into milkshakes, sandwiches, chicken tenders, and more.
While the site has hosted day-long events including a pancake brunch in May 2025, Smashburger Night, with the Woodstock Library, in June 2025, and a fish fry this June, it hasn’t had a permanent tenant since Dixon closed.
“It’s just about finding the right fit and establishing certain parameters for making the numbers work,” Malsatzki said.
Calvo was the owner and chef at Brooklyn’s Thai Farm Kitchen, which closed in November 2024 after six years. The New York Times called it “best bite of 2019” and the Brooklyn Award Program named it “Best Thai Restaurant of 2022.” She opened her first restaurant, Farm Luck Dee, in 2015 in Thailand, using ingredients from her own farm and moved to New York City in 2018 after the outlet closed.
Calvo, who began recruiting staff three weeks before Bangkok Market opened, eventually hired nine people, and found that they had trouble keeping up with customer demand. It served more than 300 customers on opening day.
She said she’s taking time to regroup and looking forward to exploring more opportunities. Phoenicia Diner plans to continue hosting month-long pop-ups, and is actively recruiting chefs.
“We already have a few promising properties in mind and are carefully exploring where Bangkok Market’s next home should be,” Calvo said. “Our goal is to find the right place, not just another location, but a community where we can truly call home again and continue serving authentic Thai cuisine for years to come.”
Eva Fulmer is an intern and contributing reporter. You can reach her at reporting@theoverlooknews.com.
