EXO Chanyeol’s Italian Restaurant Shuts Down Earlier Than Expected, And Fans Were Not Ready
If there was one place that every EXO fan wanted to visit when they finally made the trip to Korea, it was Viva Polo, the Italian restaurant run by Chanyeol‘s mother. Unfortunately, it looks like fans will no longer be able to eat there, as Viva Polo has officially closed its doors earlier than anyone expected.
Back in December, Viva Polo announced on Facebook that they would be closing down due to the store’s contract expiring on January 13, 2019.
“To everyone who was always on our side when happy things, good things, difficult things, and painful things happened, this announcement is made even harder because of you. The store’s contract ended earlier than expected so we will only be able to be open until January 13, 2019, at 3 PM. I am thankful to everyone who made a long journey looking for us.”
— Chanyeol’s mother, Viva Polo Yeolmae Branch
EXO-Ls were greatly saddened by the news that they’re favorite hangout spot was closing down, after all, it was a great place to feel close to the EXO members.
With gorgeous fan-made art covering the walls…
Autographs from the members on full display…
A comfortable setting to meet your fellow EXO-Ls…
And a chance to actually run into one of the members as they were known to grab a bite to eat there often…
Viva Polo was the perfect hang out spot for fans!
Although everyone was expecting the restaurant to shut down on January 13, they ultimately decided to shut it down a few days early.
“Before I announce that we are not receiving reservations anymore, I want to first say we are very sorry to those who had already made the reservations. After hearing that people were selling our number tickets, I should have made the decision immediately but I hesitated a lot because of those who had already made their reservations. I use Twitter every day and it’s getting harder to see the tweets as the days pass. So after discussing with the employees, it was decided that we will only be operating until tomorrow. It doesn’t seem right to continue operating in this state. This was a really tough decision for us so I hope everyone can understand. I want to say thank you to those who visited Viva Polo. Thanks to all of you, we were very happy. Thank you.”
— Chanyeol’s mother, Viva Polo Yeolmae Branch
And, as of January 10, Viva Polo officially closed its doors.
Many EXO-Ls have been shocked by the news of its early closing and dearly wish it could have remained open forever…
viva polo looks nice and fun and i cant visit it :(
— 🥰뽀뽀츄🍓 (@100bhyun) January 10, 2019
im literally so upset i never made it to korea to go to viva polo and now its closed im pic.twitter.com/53LoCB8zoe
— 열|백 (@byunsfire) January 10, 2019
im so freaking sad that viva polo is closed…
— 🌼🦊🌼 (@wonucy) January 10, 2019
But they understand the situation and have been thanking Chanyeol and his mother for allowing them to have such a special place.
you will be missed viva polo and all the good memories there❤️
— 큥🧸 (@baekisapuppy) January 10, 2019
Viva Polo is officially closed 😭
I'm so grateful to Chanyeol for keeping it open so fans could have a place to eat and share their love for EXO and for Mama Park for working so hard all these years even though she found it difficult. I hope they remember it with fond memories pic.twitter.com/aDEwvohnK3
— sixty_one (@ultchanyeolpark) January 10, 2019
i didn't get chance to visit Vivapolo….Mama Park doing great….thank you for everything😭😭
— 몬에리💖 (@aerimon85) January 10, 2019
thank you for keeping 6years 4months 6days operating!! it must be so hard by the fact that vivapolo always had long ppl lined up outside😭 the place may be disappeared but the memories never. mama park finally can relax and that's more important💛 어머니 정말 수고하세요!!🙏 pic.twitter.com/yzdO7Xq8B7
— ⊂(●(o)●)⊃ (@veteyeol) January 10, 2019