“My husband and I had a previous restaurant in the big city. But we are originally from smaller towns, so we wanted to move our business somewhere where we can watch our kids grow up in a safe community in a smaller town. We opened at the end of April, and we're very grateful. The construction took a long time and we were really worried. It was overwhelming because you can lose some of the momentum, but everyone has received us well and the other businesses and the DDA have been so helpful. We’re not necessarily concerned about selling the most—we want to sell the best. We think everyone needs good food. We think of our restaurant as also a teaching experience to open peoples’ minds about different cuisine and cultures. We want to have partnerships with local farmers to have fresher ingredients and that's accessible here. There are still things that we cannot get here, like bean sprouts, but there are a lot of other things that we use in cooking that can be purchased locally, like green onions, bell pepper, eggplant, basil, carrots and lettuce. Big franchises might give you a lot of food, but you don’t know what’s in it. They are corporate owned, and the food isn’t made by the hands of someone who truly loves their business and what they do.
As far as our dishes, I really enjoy our Drunken Noodles. It's not like the well-known Pad Thai, but it’s in the noodle family. Ours is a different sauce and it doesn't come spicy, so you don't have to worry about that. It's not as spicy and it’s very fulfilling.
For Lapeer, I like that with business to business, everyone is so helpful. It's so close knit, and it's something that as a family, we have longed for. Before, we were in a plaza before where I never knew my neighbors. But it’s different here—we want to be in a community that we can contribute to.”
– Debie Thao, Kin Thai Cuisine
Written by Phil Eich, Storyville
This project was created in collaboration with the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) & Michigan Main Street for Kin Thai Cuisine