Old Restaurant Makes Way For New Chain

A restaurant that has been a downtown institution for over 25 years has left, to make way for another Joe & The Juice.

Asia, a restaurant that has been a part of Laugavegur for 27 years, shuttered its doors last January, to pursue still as yet unknown pursuits.

Who would occupy the classic location was also unknown until recently, when the building was spotted adorned with the window signage seen in the above photo. Joe & The Juice is a Denmark-based juice and sandwich bar, and they already have several locations in Iceland.

The news comes just months after another foreign chain restaurant franchise, Dunkin’ Donuts, took over another location on Laugavegur, formerly the home of the Asian-themed Buddha Café.

The face of Laugavegur has been changing dramatically in the past year, and not just with local businesses being replaced by ones based overseas. Several hotels are currently under construction on Reykjavík’s main street, and another Laugavegur institution – the grocer’s Vísir – was replaced by a tourist souvenir shop earlier this spring.