After over a year, this Eastside icon returned. Two days later, it closed for good.

When Fast Wok opened its doors on Wednesday, Nov. 1 for the first time in over a year, it received as warm a welcome back as any restaurant owner could desire.

Lines poured out of the small storefront on 10116 E. Washington St. and wrapped around nearby businesses. One by one, customers who waited for hours in the brisk fall air received clam-shell boxes of Bungon ‘Mama’ Nettles’ renowned Chinese and Thai cuisine, flocking to the restaurant that had been closed since health issues sidelined Nettles in June 2022.

After serving customers until 4 a.m. — despite the posted closing time of 8 p.m. — Fast Wok closed Thursday to rest, restock and prep for another long day full of lines of hungry people.

By Friday night, after another day of long lines, the decades-old Eastside staple announced it would close for good.

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Nettles served Indianapolis residents for nearly 30 years at Fast Wok, garnering a reputation for big servings and cash-only payments. For years, Fast Wok offered free Thanksgiving meals.

When Nettles suffered a stroke in June 2022, Fast Wok closed with a promise to return in January. Several delays followed as Nettles recovered. Under each apologetic yet reassuring Facebook update, supportive comments poured in, encouraging ‘Mama’ to prioritize her health while bemoaning the absence of her beef and broccoli.

When Nettles exited her Chrysler van next to the restaurant on Wednesday morning, customers camping out in lawn chairs greeted her from underneath blankets and hoodies.

“We can’t wait for your food,” a woman called out.

But wait they would. And despite the adulation that marked Nettles’ return, frustration and fear ultimately overshadowed the reopening.

Wednesday evening police received a call from a woman who said a group of women were fighting her daughter as both parties waited in line. Friday night came another call about a skirmish possibly involving a firearm.

In a Facebook post Saturday, Fast Wok said customers in the line made five police calls during the restaurant’s short-lived revival.

Bradley Lowe, a 36-year-old Lawrence resident, arrived at Fast Wok around 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Lowe grew up on the Eastside and has considered Fast Wok a staple since he was in high school. He saw on social media that his old haunt had reopened and decided to treat himself to a birthday lunch.

While Lowe said he was used to waiting 30 minutes to an hour at Fast Wok, he hadn’t seen anything like Friday’s crowd.

“People were acting like this was, like, drugs,” he said. “They were willing to do whatever it took to get in.”

Lowe said while he waited in line, he saw multiple patrons cut or attempt to cut in line. He said one of the people in line near him offered $50 to cut someone. When the other people whom that man cut objected, he offered to pay them as well.

Lowe also said he saw a woman walk out from the restaurant with more than 10 meals that she sold to people in line and others in cars who drove up to the lot.

At 3:22 p.m. Friday, Fast Wok announced on Facebook it was limiting customers to five meals per order. At 5:41 p.m., the restaurant posted those at the end of the line could expect to wait seven hours.

Lowe’s birthday lunch slowly turned into his birthday dinner. He left Fast Wok at 6 p.m. with Thai hot chicken and Szechuan chicken for himself, his mother and his nephew. While Lowe was tired, he pitied the people serving him more.

“You could see the defeat on the employees’ faces,” he said. “These people were busting their behinds to make sure everyone was served.”

Shortly after Lowe left, things got worse.

Devin Boyd, 28, was inside the restaurant when an altercation involving a possible firearm sighting broke out.

Boyd got in line shortly before Fast Wok opened at 11 a.m. and didn’t reach the front doors until 4:30 p.m. As she watched multiple customers cutting in the hours-long line, Boyd said people were getting aggravated. A group of young women behind her refused to get cut.

“Basically, they were willing to fight about their spot,” Boyd said.

Once inside the restaurant, Boyd stood shoulder-to-shoulder with dozens of other hungry, tired customers. Around 7 p.m., a woman in a light purple coat approached the women behind Boyd.

According to Boyd, the woman in purple asked multiple people if she could cut in line, but all refused. One of the women in the group behind Boyd then stood in front of the woman in purple, obstructing her path.

“It just started getting really heated from here,” Boyd said.

In a video Boyd posted to her Facebook story, the woman in purple — who Boyd said exited the line but did not leave the restaurant — is seen speaking loudly with a woman in a black jacket and pink baseball cap. When the argument escalates to shoving, the woman in purple reaches into her jacket. Multiple onlookers can be heard saying the woman has a gun, although Boyd said she never saw one.

The woman in purple kept her hand in her jacket while slowly backing out of the restaurant. Shortly after, someone in line called the police. Fast Wok employees tried to get the remaining customers to leave and said the restaurant would shut down.

Boyd said Fast Wok eventually served some of the remaining customers after police arrived. By the time she got her food at 8 p.m. — nine hours after she arrived — Boyd said she was exhausted. She said Nettles’ daughter came out, hugged her and reassured her of Nettles’ love for the Eastside.

Despite that love, Nettles no longer felt safe. At 10:53 p.m., another video surfaced on Facebook in which Nettles, clad in a stained white apron, expressed her frustration with the previous two days.

“Not only did they have no respect for each other, they had no respect for me,” she said. “I am very disappointed about that. I can not take people that have no respect for each other. We are done.”

Fast Wok has temporarily closed multiple times, but Friday’s announcement came with no promise of reopening. Saturday afternoon, Fast Wok cancelled its free Thanksgiving meals as well.

Approached for comment, a representative for Fast Wok responded via email.

“Mama has been on the east side for almost 30 years. She loves the people and they love her.”

But, the email continued, in two days Fast Wok saw five police calls, two damaged front doors and an alleged gun threat.

“Mama decided she had enough. It was never like this before,” the email concluded.

On Tuesday the lines that stretched for hours were gone. A makeshift closed sign hung on one of the damaged front doors. While customers have rallied for a reopening, none appears likely.

Boyd, who used to visit Fast Wok with her sister, was disappointed but understood why Nettles chose to close.

“These whole two years, I really didn’t think they were gonna open back up, so this was a big thing for me and my sister,” she said. “We loved Fast Wok.”

Contact dining and drinks reporter Bradley Hohulin @bhohulin@gannett.com. You can follow him on Twitter @bradleyhohulin.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After over a year, iconic Fast Wok returns. Two days later, it closes.