The North Beach location of King of Thai Noodle House (1268 Grant Ave. at Vallejo) is being sold. By the end of the year, it will be transformed into "Tamarind Hall", from new owner Salisa Kanokpanont and her husband, Todd Marshall Skinner.
Kanokpanont, who worked in Thailand as an attorney, told us she expects to keep much of the restaurant the same, including the cheap beer and the affordable menu of Thai dishes. She does plan to add more draft beers and some "authentic Thai street food" items, such as skewers and curries made without coconut milk. She'll close for a few days for remodeling, but the decor won't change radically: it will be lighter and brighter and feature paintings of Thai fighters, she said.
"[Kanokpanont] likes the restaurant and likes the location," said King of Thai's current owner, Anthony Tahng, who's run it for nearly a decade. He isn't selling the building, just the restaurant; he plans to turn the second floor into an apartment. Tahng will also continue to run the King of Thai Noodle House at 184 O'Farrell St. in Union Square. (He isn't affiliated with the one in the Inner Sunset Richmond, at 639 Clement St.)
King of Thai is known for its low prices on beer ($3 domestic bottles, $3.50 import/craft cans and bottles; $3.75 drafts). It also offers a full bar. The drinks, served until 1am nightly, can attract a raucous crowd, and neighbors have expressed concerns about increased crime, fights, and muggings at the intersection of Grant and Vallejo. A 59-year-old customer was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after an altercation outside the restaurant in October.
Tahng said he sold the Grant location because the neighborhood puts too many limits on restaurants. He wanted to feature Thai entertainment, but he said neighborhood group Telegraph Hill Dwellers blocked it. "They control more than City Hall," he said.
King of Thai's current interior. (Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline)
Kanokpanont and Skinner have applied for a type 47 liquor license under the business name Arowana Restaurant Group LLC. Kanokpanont has also applied to trademark the name Tamarind Hall, under her married name, Salisa K. Skinner.
The name Tamarind Hall, Kanokpanont said, is a play on "Tammany Hall," the Democratic Party political machine in New York that existed from the late 1700s to the 1960s and was most active in the 1800s. Tamarind is a sour fruit used in cooking many Thai dishes, including pad Thai.
