Noord will end its eight-year restaurant run in South Philadelphia

Sad news to mark the outset of snert season:

Joncarl Lachman and Bob Moysan are powering down Noord, the well-regarded Dutch-Northern European BYOB they opened in 2013 at 11th and Tasker Streets, across from the Singing Fountain at Passyunk Crossing.

Lachman says the last day of service will be Sunday, Oct. 31. On Mondays for the remainder of the year, he’ll serve a casual $50 fixed-price menu, at one seating, whose convivial feasting spirit will be inspired by the Van Gogh painting The Potato Eaters.

Lachman said they’re closing “for a lot of reasons. It’s almost too difficult to explain.” The pandemic, of course, took a lot out of them. “As you know, I’m all about service,” he said, “and here I was, putting rabbit in plastic containers.” The couple also want to downsize — which is why they intend to open a smaller restaurant, with a gallery for Moysan’s art, in Lambertville, N.J.

The Philadelphia-raised Lachman and Moysan were nomadic restaurant veterans in Chicago when they moved to South Philadelphia in 2012 to open Noord as the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corp. was revitalizing the area. Reviews were solid, with The Inquirer’s Craig LaBan writing: “From the moment we dove into a bread bowl of house-baked Swedish farm crackers and a loaf of coarse barley bread, ripped peasant-style and charred on the grill, I knew we had a winner.”

Lachman later opened The Dutch, a breakfast spot in South Philadelphia (now owned by founding partner Lee Styer of Fond); Neuf, a now-closed bistro in the Italian Market (now Nourish); and Winkel, the charming Dutch-inspired bruncherie at 1119 Locust St. in Washington Square West.

Winkel, now under chef Jonnathan Yacashin, will remain.