On May 23rd, 2022, BunFun posted a message on Instagram stating they would be shortly closing. The message reads:
“To All Our Valued Guests and Friends
It is with great sadness that we announce the closing of our Bun Fun location on Federal Hill. Our lease expired and we chose the direction of Pop Ups and food trucks ! We want to thank all of our wonderful guests and employees for supporting us during and after the pandemic. The Hospitality Industry has taken many hits the past couple years and we are still looking forward to seeing you guys all around the city. Executive Chef Kenneth will be taking over moving forward with the next chapter for Bun Fun. Contact us for all your catering and pop-up needs 🤗 Thank YOU Providence!!”
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we saw nearly every market affected in some capacity, and this became especially prevalent as 2021 and 2022 rolled around. Shortages, inflation, wages — every industry and every person was hit. The food and service industries suffered from extreme food increases and labor shortages (partially due to adjustments in wages and inflation). Many restaurants temporarily and permanently went out of business, and unfortunately, the highly reviewed, semi-new burger joint, BunFun, had to close its doors.
Opening in mid-2020, BunFun became instantly famous for its wild décor, tasty fries, and family-American-sized individual burgers. This was complimented by their generous pricing, almost too good in fact, which could have perhaps led to its own demise. They won my list for best Burger Joint in the state and even won community awards for having some of the best burgers around. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end… or is this the end?
According to BunFun’s post, there’s more to come, albeit in the form of pop-up events and food trucks. While this still remains to be seen, I know I’m excited for the comeback! However, despite my excitement, I am frustrated that we even reached this point. To be blunt, the fact that many restaurants, sometimes good ones like in this case, are forced to close their doors while mediocre ones live on really bothers me. It frustrates me to see some of these other burger joints with lines outside the door charging double and offering half the quality that BunFun did. But, this is what this website and blog are for: to hopefully bring awareness to the spots that deserve attention!
Anyway, frustration aside, I cannot wait for the BunFun comeback. I can only wish them good success and hope that even more people will catch on. Who knows, maybe if they grow further in popularity through their next endeavors, they’ll be able to reopen a physical location someday.