New restaurant opening after one closes in this Wichita suburb
There’s bad news and good news for Park City residents.
The north Wichita suburb has lost its long-running Chopstix restaurant, but it’s gaining a new Thai and sushi spot.
Bouakeo Phommachanh moved to Wichita seven months ago to be with her husband, Mgngeune Keohavong, and wanted to open a restaurant in the area after having success running a restaurant in Maine.
“She always wanted to open a restaurant, so we looked around Wichita for places,” Keohavong said.
Finding a spot for the restaurant had proven to be difficult. One day, they ended up in Park City’s Chopstix restaurant to eat. They asked the owners how much success they had running a restaurant in Park City, which is when they found out that the owners were retiring. And just like that, they found the perfect spot for a restaurant.
“We asked, ‘How’s business going here? Because, I mean, you guys have been here at least for a while,’” Keohavong said. “They said business is good and asked why (we asked). I said, ‘My wife wants to open a restaurant, but we can’t find the right area. But we’re searching for a spot.’
“She said, ‘Well that’s perfect, because we’re retiring.’ And (we said) ‘We’ll take over.’ I mean, it was an easy talk.”
Keohavong said that they are excited to bring Thai food to the Wichita suburb.
“Something new for Park City. They don’t have Thai food,” Keohavong said.
Thai Kitchen & Sushi will open its doors on Monday, April 27 at 1615 E. 61st St. North.
The restaurant is owned by Phommachanh while Keohavong said he will do the managing and customer service work.
The menu is the same as Phommachanh’s Thai restaurant in Maine except this one will include sushi rolls, a new addition.
“She’s got a lot of experience in the kitchen. She’s got her own recipes (and) sauce,” Keohavong said.
Phommachanh and Keohavong both said the main goal of the restaurant is to serve customers.
“Hopefully people enjoy the food and hopefully we can make them happy when they eat the food,” Keohavong said.
