May 22, 2008 Issue
Business Spotlight
Cha Da Thai—Spicing Up The High Country With Culture, Food and Community Support
Story by Sam Calhoun
With limited choices for ethnic cuisine in the High Country, Cha Da Thai, located at 173 Howard Street in downtown Boone, was a welcome addition to mountain palates when it opened 1.5 years ago.
Since Walsh Sisoukrath, owner of Cha Da Thai, decided to open his traditional Thai cuisine restaurant in Boone in 2006, he has not only spiced up our options for dining, but he has also adopted the High Country as his new home.
Sisoukrath gets serious when he talks about how much the High Country community means to him, his wife Bounthanh and his ten employees, all of whom are related to him in one way or another. Sisoukrath lights up when he talks about all the friends that brought him here in the first place and the friends he’s made along the way.
“This is my home,” said Sisoukrath. “We’ve made many friends here—some great friends, such as Roger Wright, Mary Roddy, Mr. Wilcox, Mary Baker, Tuesdae Rice. They’re all beautiful people.”
Sisoukrath’s description of Boone as his “home” is quite the statement, especially because he is now more than 3,000 miles away from where he was born.
Originally from Laos, Sisoukrath lived between Laos and Thailand until 1980 when he moved to Providence, R.I. so he could get an education. As a young boy wishing to provide financial support for his large family, Sisoukrath believed, and still believes, that education is the key to living a better life—a belief he shares often with schoolchildren in the High Country when they visit his restaurant on field trips.
After attending Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Sisoukrath enrolled in the business program at the University of Rhode Island for a few years, gathering the skills he needed to own and operate his own restaurants. But it would be a few more years before Sisoukrath would enter the culinary sphere.
In 1990, Sisoukrath moved to North Carolina and started working as a general consultant for a general contracting company. After a few years of working as a consultant, Sisoukrath began learning traditional Thai recipes from his aunt who taught cooking classes in Thailand. He finally ended up living in Winston-Salem and, in 2002, he decided to take the leap and open his own Thai restaurant. The concept took off and four years later, he came to Boone to double-up on his dream. Many people in Winston-Salem recommended Boone to him as a good location for a restaurant, he said.
“And it’s worked well ever since. The people here have been a big support,” said Sisoukrath.
Sisoukrath is doing well for himself and he goes out of his way to help—financially and emotionally—his family and friends in Thailand, as well as his family and friends in America. What most people don’t know is that all of Sisoukrath’s employees are his family—cousins, nieces and nephews. Sisoukrath’s two daughters run the Cha Da Thai location in Winston-Salem.
“This is our family—this is our family business,” said Sisoukrath. “We work hard all of our lives and it pays off. [Customers] come back for our good service, good food and nice and clean location. And my employees—this is a big opportunity for them to make money to support the family.”
In addition to local community support—such as hosting field trips at his restaurant for High Country schoolchildren, functions for ASU students and his donations to local churches and nonprofits—Sisoukrath also is very active in supporting people in Southeast Asia. He is going back to Asia in June to see family and friends and to learn new recipes, but he is also working on a plan to deliver money and aid to victims of the cyclone in Burma. With the Burmese government only allowing aid from Southeast Asia, Sisoukrath is working with temples in Thailand to find ways to deliver the aid. In the past, Sisoukrath has provided funds to build new schoolrooms in Thailand, as well as to purchase chairs tables and school supplies.
“I like to teach [the kids in Thailand] how to leave and get an education,” said Sisoukrath.
But that’s not the only reason he travels back to Thailand—Sisoukrath also uses the trips to learn new recipes from his aunt and other family members. In June, he hopes to learn new diet and healthy recipes to bring back and feature at Cha Da Thai, such as new steamed vegetable dishes.
“It will be healthy food but it will have a lot of flavor,” said Sisoukrath.
The new dishes will join Sisoukrath’s constantly evolving special offerings, such as his regional Thai dinners in the fall, his special holiday meals and his weekly May wine tastings. With more than 100 bottles of wine to choose from, Sisoukrath hosts weekly wine tastings every Thursday in May.
Sisoukrath plans to stay in Boone indefinitely and stay an active member of the community he and his family love. He feels very humbled with how much support he’s received and uses his wife as an example.
“[Bounthanh] does a great job here. She makes many friends here—some even help her with her English. She takes English at the community college. She is very grateful to the people of this area and so am I,” said Sisoukrath. “I’m very proud of this community. It’s a big support.”
Cha Da Thai is located at 173 Howard Street in downtown Boone. The restaurant is open for lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant is open for dinner from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, click to www.chadathai-nc.com or call 828-268-0434.
Cha Da Thai also has a location in Winston-Salem at 420-J Jonestown Road in New Town Square. For more information on the Winston-Salem location, call 336-659-8466.
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