Two new restaurants are planning to open in place of two spots that recently closed.

Thai Nam, an unloved Thai restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue between 80th Street and 81st Street, was closed by the Department of Health at the beginning of the year, and appears to have never reopened its doors. Today, Eater reports that a new restaurant name already adorns the awning: A La Mode Oriental. A La Mode has a midtown location whose yelp reviews don’t offer much praise (lots of one-star reviews). But the midtown location has at least one thing going for it: it’s open until 3 a.m. all week. The menu is pretty standard Chinese food. “A La Mode Oriental” is the kind of name that makes me worry — pick a cultural identity and stick with it!

Mama Mexico, on Broadway between 101st Street and 102nd Street, closed mysteriously at the beginning of the year after more than 15 years on the Upper West Side. The restaurant has been through some tax and bankruptcy troubles in the past, but the reason behind the closing is still unclear. In the past week or so, a new banner went up on the old Mama Mexico, heralding the upcoming arrival of “Maria Bonita”. The picture at left was sent in by West Side Rag reader Andrea Robbins. There’s a Maria Bonita restaurant in Florida, but apparently it has no connection to this new spot.

For other recent local openings and closings, click here.