Downtown Lexington restaurant reopening with help from another dining spot
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Nat’s Thai at 111 S Upper St. will reopen June 24 or June 25 with help.
- Archa Nine owners have taken over the rent and are helping with the operation.
- Nat Yuttayong will train Archa Nine’s chef, keep the menu and stay for now.
A popular downtown Lexington Thai restaurant that was closed for two months plans to reopen.
Nat’s Thai restaurant at 111 S Upper St. will reopen either June 24 or 25, with help from another local Thai restaurant, Archa Nine Thai Kitchen.
Archa Nine owners Freda Oppenborn and her husband, Panupan (Tom) Rungcharoen, are family friends with Nat’s chef and owner Nat Yuttayong. They say they have taken over the rent for the restaurant and hope to convince Yuttayong to stay in America and not move back to his homeland of Thailand.
“It’s basically us stepping in to kind of help him with the operation,” said Freda.
“Hopefully we can keep him here,” said Panupan. “Everybody, they’ve been waiting for Nat to come back. They miss Nat’s food really bad.”
Described as a “hole in the wall,” the restaurant was a takeout-only, one-man show run by Yuttayong, who said he decided to close two months ago to go back to Thailand, help his mother with her durian farm and possibly reopen a family noodle shop.
But plans changed when the owners of Archa Nine offered help. Yuttayong says he is going to stay, help train Archa Nine’s chef on his menu and reevaluate whether to go back home.
“I don’t have a time frame for how long,” said Yuttayong. “I guess, up until his chef or his employee are comfortable.”
Panupan said the restaurant business is difficult everywhere, but especially in Thailand. And that’s part of the reason they want to convince him to stay.
“Hopefully we can keep him here, but you know, there’s not many opportunities in Thailand right now,” said Panupan.
The restaurant’s menu of traditional Thai dishes, including grilled pork neck with noodles, pad Thai and yellow curry, is popular with downtown workers. The trio said they do not plan to change the menu or name of the restaurant.
But they are making some changes — installing a new gas line and order window out front of the restaurant, which had sporadic hours. The trio said they also plan to speed up service, offering freshly prepared but ready to serve Thai dishes seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“It’s gonna be like a quick stop for Thai,” said Freda. “It will probably be similar in a way to Panda Express, where you cook food right there on the spot, and it’s going to be ready to serve, and then you can actually order whatever is on our very short menu.”
Located next door to Failte Irish Imports, Nat’s was popular with downtown lunch crowds. Customers could also eat from the local Thai restaurant at the nearby McCarthy’s Irish Bar.
Nat’s opened in 2012 and local diners often said it was them most authentic Thai restaurant in Lexington, frequently rating it with high marks, praising its authentic, spicy, and “hidden gem” quality.
While the restaurant has been closed, Yuttayong said he has missed his customers, but he is looking forward to helping with the reopening.
“We expect to be busier,” said Yuttayong.
