Chao Ku, in happier times. (Photo by Rachel Sadon)

While the steady influx of trendy new restaurants and bars on 9th Street NW continues, the area is losing two of its more casual and affordable options.

Chao Ku, which means “super cool” in Mandarin slang, didn’t live up to the name. After serving up tasty Chinese fare in a bright, fast casual-ish atmosphere for less than a year, its closure on Sunday marked a quick end to an experiment in less expensive dining on the corridor. “I just thought at our price point, we were going to differentiate because there’s so much high-end stuff opening, but it just didn’t materialize for us,” owner John Fielding told Washingtonian. “I tried to keep it going as long as I could, and it’s just not happening.”

He attributed part of the failure to the lengthy build-out time—two years instead of an expected nine months—and its location across the street from a construction site.

A & D Bar, meanwhile, succumbed to the whims of its landlord, which decided not to renew the lease after five years. Their last day of operation will be April 23rd, Popville reports, but they hope to stay in the neighborhood.