Bangkok Thai Deli Moving!

Cult-favorite Bangkok Thai Deli—the one in the back of the supermarket whose food and ambiance feels more like Thailand than anything else in the metro—is on the move!

Not far, thankfully: it’s headed just across the street to the former Burger King at 333 University Avenue. A call to Bangkok Thai confirmed that they’ll be open as usual through Tuesday, October 30, and then they’ll shut down operations for a few weeks before reopening, assuming all goes well, later in November. I was told that the move will mean a bigger dining room, a big parking lot, and the same, well-loved menu items, possibly with a few new additions. (Like the ones at their new-ish sister restaurant in Minneapolis, Krungthep Thai? Here’s hoping!) The new building should mean much-improved visibility and easier access—two things that will be especially welcome after all they’ve endured with the light rail construction.

I always find second-generation fast-food restaurant spaces to be sort of charming—the new businesses are often ethnic startups, with the ghosts of chicken wings and French fries still lingering—and I like to see unique independent businesses replace a ubiquitous chain. Pineda Tacos had a good run in a former Pizza Hut at Hi-Lake and Trung Nam French Bakery has had years of success in a former fried chicken shack further down University Avenue, so I expect that Bangkok will thrive in its new spot. Though I am curious to see if any trace of the building’s flame-broiled past carries over…