For the trio of women operating Covington’s newest Asian-style restaurant, food is the common thread that brought them together.
Founded by Anya Hoffman, Wun Woon, and their head chef, Premmy, Thai Pavilion first opened its doors on Oct. 27. It’s located at 405 Scott Street — the former site of the Korean chicken and beer restaurant Chi Maek.
After Chi Maek abruptly closed its doors in August, proprietor Bruce Kim tipped Hoffman off about the availability of his prime storefront location. Hoffman told LINK nky that the opportunity was too good to pass up.
In Thai culture, pavilions are where people come together and engage in community activities. Starting a restaurant allowed the trio to share their Thai culture and love of food with the Northern Kentucky community.
Hoffman and Premmy had always dreamed of running a restaurant together. The duo first met in their native Thailand, where they started a car repair shop. Their third business partner, Woon, also had entrepreneurial ambitions. She previously owned a clothing store and a sushi shop.
Eventually, the trio migrated to the United States. Hoffman and Woon first met while working at Green Papaya in Hyde Park. They became fast friends over their shared love of food.
To make ends meet, they worked in a variety of restaurants. Occasionally, they would travel to Chicago and frequent restaurants around the city on weekends. All three of them could be described as “foodies.”
“We used to drive two hours somewhere just to eat,” Hoffman said.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down restaurants across the Greater Cincinnati area, the trio started an e-commerce business selling Thai food online and shipping it across the United States to other Thai people. The business kept them afloat financially but cemented the idea they could work together on a future business endeavor.
Hoffman described Thai Pavilion as native Thai cuisine with an American twist. Their menu is littered with noodles, fried rice dishes, wontons, and spring rolls. It also features recognizable classics like Pad Thai, red curry, and pad kee mao.
Upon entering, patrons will see a full bar serving imported beers like Singha and Chang and a variety of cocktails like Lady in Red — a pink-colored drink featuring gin, aperol, vermouth, and orange bitters. Non-alcoholic drinks include Thai iced tea, Thai iced coffee, and summer iced tea.
Hoffman said that Thai Pavilion was filling a vacuum in the Covington food market. The city boasts popular Asian restaurants like Kung Food AmerAsia, Riverside Korean, and Wabi Sabi. Thai Pavilion hopes to add to this scene. It is now Covington’s only Thai restaurant.
“There was a chance to open a Thai restaurant here because there’s Madison Avenue where Riverside is right now, there’s a Japanese restaurant, Chinese, Mexican, a sushi place,” Hoffman said. “That’s one thing that made us realize, ‘okay, there’s no Thai restaurant in the area.'”
So far, Thai Pavilion has received a good reception from the Covington community, said Hoffman. Due to its location downtown, the restaurant gets busy during lunchtime. Employees from neighboring offices like DBL Law, Internal Revenue Service, and Kenton County Court House come through in the middle of the day.
