A new Thai restaurant is coming to a prominent downtown Knoxville restaurant space nearly two years after a pizza spot closed in the same location.
Appethai announced on Instagramit will open at 416 Clinch Ave., previously home to New Haven Pizza and next to the French Market Creperie near Market Square. Currently operating as a food truck, Applethai makes its rounds to local breweries, farmers markets and festivals. This will be its first brick-and-mortar restaurant.
Owner Thitinart Boriboon was born and raised in Bangkok and moved six years ago to Knoxville, where she started her food truck business in 2021 as a way to share her love for cooking and the cuisine she holds close to her heart. Her business is guided by a simple philosophy: "We
only serve food that we'd make for friends and family."
Before Knoxville, Boriboon moved in March 2020 to California for a program at UCLA, days before all her classes were moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Realizing she no longer needed to be in-person for the program, Knox News previously reported, she reached out to her family in Knoxville.
“Before I moved here from Bangkok, I didn’t know how to cook,” she said in 2021. “I missed Thai food a lot, so I learned to cook.”
The Appethai menu features items such as fried chicken dumplings, Thai cashew chicken, Panang curry and fried banana rolls. An opening timeline has not been announced.
Since closing New Haven Pizza, owner Nama Collective continues to operate Harvest, Nama Izakaya and Nama Sushi Bar.
Info: appethaiknox.com | @appethaiknox | 416 Clinch Ave.
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna's Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Thai food truck you've seen around Knoxville finds new downtown home
