Since Niramol “Ann” Riensin opened Pad Thai Restaurant in 2013, the southern Overland Park restaurant has drummed up a loyal following.
Such a large following, Riensin said, that the restaurant is now bursting at the seams. On any given weekend, the Thai eatery has an hour-long wait.
“It’s become a neighborhood favorite for everybody around here,” she said. “This place has been here for so long, and it’s just kind of outgrown itself.”
As such, the restaurant plans to move into a larger space nearby, but it won’t just be the address changing.
Next year, Pad Thai Restaurant will undergo a rebrand, reopening in its new location as Thai Story.
Thai Story is coming to 14459 Metcalf Ave.
- The restaurant will move into a newly-built space at the Lionsgate Marketplace development, just off 143rd Street and Metcalf Avenue.
- The project is currently going through city approvals. It will neighbor doughnut shop Mr. D’s, the popular Shawnee doughnut shop opening a second location at the development.
- Once Thai Story does open, Riensin said its hours will be the same as Pad Thai’s hours — 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Thai Story will serve Thai “home-cooking” with a modern twist
Though Thai Story will serve many of the classic curries, stir-fries and noodle dishes that customers at Pad Thai have come to know, Riensin said the restaurant will do so with a modern twist.
Every dish on the menu will have its own “story” behind it, she said, hence the restaurant’s new name.
The menu is still being finalized, but Riensin said it will also include some new cocktails as well as grab-and-go options.
As a person with Thai heritage herself, Riensin said she was driven to open a restaurant in the first place by the desire to share the recipes she knows and loves with others.
Thai Story’s space itself will bring some new elements, too. For one, the roughly 3,600-square foot space will have an enclosed greenhouse patio with lots of plants — a feature that Riensin said is common at Thai restaurants.
“I just want to bring something new for people here in Overland Park,” she said. “I want people to feel like they’ve come to Thailand.”
Thai Story will open next year
Pending city approvals and construction, Riensin said the hope is that Thai Story reopens in its new location next spring.
In the meantime, Pad Thai will remain open through construction and then close permanently after the new location is fully open and operational.
Ultimately, Riensin said she’s looking forward to all of the new things that Thai Story will bring. But there’s one thing she said she looks forward to bringing into the next chapter — the customers at Pad Thai that she’s already gotten to know.
In a sense, that’s where the restaurant’s new name comes from. It’s the marking of the start of Pad Thai’s next chapter, she said, and the people who helped shape it.
“This community has given me so much,” she said. “The people here have become my story.”
Want more food and drink news? Locally-owned doughnut shop Mr. D’s on its way to Overland Park
