<![CDATA[KIN - CONNECT - Restaurants]]>

<![CDATA[KIN - CONNECT - Restaurants]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:40:57 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Fai Thai Kitchen]]>Tue, 28 Jan 2025 22:09:50 GMThttps://www.kin-connect.org/restaurants/fai-thai-kitchen

Kultida Blais, Owner of Fai Thai Kitchen

Fai Thai Kitchen specializes in Pad Thai. They also have several curry dishes. Offering homestyle Thai food, Fai Thai Kitchen evolved from what was first Fai Thai Food Truck.

Owned by Kultida Blais, Fai Thai Kitchen came from rough beginnings.

Following in the footsteps of her parents, who were both chefs, Kultida decided she wanted to open a food truck. So working as a restaurant server, she saved $16,000 to buy and equip a truck. She hired a consultant who helped her develop a business plan, and then he introduced her to a man she hired to build the truck.

Unfortunately, the man used only $9,000 to build her truck and ran off with the remaining $7,000. Though incredibly disappointed, Kultida didn’t stop pursuing her dream. She endeavored to work harder to finish the project, setting out to finish building the truck, adding a wok, a large prep area, fire suppression, and a generator.

Once it was up and running, the business experienced a slow start. But after she became more well known, people began flocking to the truck. Since then, Kultida says Knoxville has been very supportive of Fai Thai.

Growing up in Bangkok, Thailand, Kultida worked for two years in public relations but then decided to leave. Ruled by a hierarchy with a king, Kultida left Thailand for “a place with more freedom,” arriving in New York in 2014, where she studied English as a second language (ESL) for six months before transferring to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2015.

Kultida has now opened a restaurant version of her food truck, but with an expanded menu, on Kingston Pike.

]]><![CDATA[Sami's Café]]>Thu, 03 Feb 2022 21:16:15 GMThttps://www.kin-connect.org/restaurants/samis-cafe

Bassam Natour, Owner of Sami's Café, named for his father

Born in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah in 1966, Bassam “Sam” Natour and his family left the area soon after he was born. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Sam’s dad took the family to the United States where his dad and two uncles bought a house in Fairfax, Virginia. They lived there until 1973, when they moved to Knoxville.

A friend of Bassam’s dad who lived in Knoxville told them they should come to Knoxville for business opportunities, so after scouting the area, they bought a business: the Copper Kettle restaurant on Western Avenue.

Sam opened his own restaurant in 1993 in downtown Knoxville. But when he suffered a heart attack, his doctor advised him to take some time off to rest and recover. He sold his business and took 14 months off from work. Regaining strength, he then went to work helping at his brother’s business, Pete’s Restaurant, on Union Avenue.

Then one day, Sam’s current landlord reached out to him, knowing his background, and told him about an available restaurant location. Sam was unsure whether he wanted to get back into the restaurant business, but he had missed his customers from the downtown restaurant. So he decided to give it one more try. His home cooking quickly drew a crowd!

Named after Bassam’s father, Sam says his family played a big role in helping get his business started. And as far as specialty entrees go, Sam says everything is his best seller - and that’s why he keeps it on the menu!

Sami’s Cafe is located in Franklin Square at 9700 Kingston Pike, was an immediate success. The restaurant is open Monday - Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; (865) 531-7900.

]]><![CDATA[Sticky Rice Cafe]]>Thu, 03 Feb 2022 20:20:03 GMThttps://www.kin-connect.org/restaurants/sticky-rice-cafe

Nongkhan Sikarng, Owner of Sticky Rice Café

Sticky Rice Café believes food can be so much more than just a meal. It’s about flavors. It’s about culture. And it's about family.

Nongkhan ("Khan") and her mother, Phet, are originally from Laos. When Khan was born, the Vietnam war was ending, and the country was in turmoil. In order to join Khan's father, who was from Thailand, they had to escape from their homeland.

Phet's only choice was to cross the Mekong River with one-year-old Khan on her back. For some time the rest of the family did not know if they made it safely. Once they were reunited, their family was moved through many refugee camps in many countries. They dealt with the very worst conditions but were able to stay together. Finally, after many years, Khan's father found a sponsor and moved their family to the United States. At first, they lived in Louisiana.

Although the two places seem worlds apart, both Laos and Louisiana have French influences. Both cultures place an emphasis on simple, delicious foods, with the perfect blend of flavor and spice. The women in their family have always taken pride in the meals they serve. They have passed recipes down, from mother to daughter, through many generations. It did not take long for Khan to realize that the foods she grew up with were not known to people here. Since then, Khan has dreamed of opening this restaurant. Her hope has always been to share the foods he loves and the culture that created them, with people who would otherwise never encounter them.

Everything served at Sticky Rice Café is hand-made by Khan’s family with the very freshest of ingredients. Every dish can be customized with added items - ask for recommendations!

Sticky Rice Café is located at 120 Jack Dance Street, off Kingston Pike, across from West Town Mall, open Monday - Saturday, 11a.m. - 9 p.m.; (865) 249-6273.

Calvin Lorrin

(L) to (R) Mikayla McDaniel, Nyoua Moua, Phiangrutai Dougherty, Nongkhan Sikarng, Rongthip Brown

]]><![CDATA[Tealicious]]>Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:49:18 GMThttps://www.kin-connect.org/restaurants/tealicious

My Quyen Duong, Owner of Tealicious Bubble Tea Shop

Tealicious Bubble Tea shop opened in Hardin Valley September 2019. This Boba tea café is owned by My Quyen Duong, who came to Knoxville with her family from Vietnam when she was eight years old.

Processed through a program started under President Ford following the Vietnam War, My’s family qualified for entry due to her father’s prisoner of war (POW) status. Through the program, the US took in an estimated 125,000 Vietnamese people. My Quyen has been in Knoxville for 28 years.

After working in the accounting field for over 10 years, My Quyen said she never pictured herself becoming a business owner. However, having a “bubble tea obsession,” she told her cousin, who owned a Boba shop in North Carolina, to open one in Knoxville and she would manage it for her. So what started as a bit of a joking conversation in April 2019 soon resulted in My opening her Tealicious shop in Knoxville.

My says the hardest part of starting Tealicious as a first-time business owner was not realizing how long it took to order and receive supplies. Establishing the final location was also a struggle. She had anticipated opening on Cumberland Avenue to take advantage of business from college students. But because summertime is the best season for iced Boba drinks, she decided college students may not be the demographic to target for optimal business.

My thought it would be much harder to find staff, but says, “I've been blessed with a really good team,” and she enjoys building relationships with her customers, too. Even during the pandemic, My says the Hardin Valley community has really come out to support local businesses.

Knoxville’s response to Tealicious was, at first, a mix. There were those who knew and loved Boba tea and were excited to have another option. Then there were those who had no idea what it was - but they quickly learned!

Tealicious has several combinations of tea and toppings from which to choose. More popular tea combos include classic milk, brown sugar milk, Thai, strawberry, and taro milk. They also have food items, all Vietnamese, and some from family recipes. Tealicious also partners with local women-owned businesses to provide products for sale, such as Berrylicious, a business that specializes in chocolate goodies, offering chocolate bombs exclusively to Tealicious (Vietnamese espresso, taro, and matcha); Karah DeAnn Designs, supplying stickers and keychains; and DreamWareCo, which designs glass cups.

Tealicious is located at 10720 Hardin Valley Rd in Knoxville, TN. Hours are Monday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., and you can reach them at (865)766-5329.

(L) to (R) Sean Giganti, My Quyen Duong, and Madison Griswold

]]><![CDATA[Yassin's Falafel House]]>Wed, 02 Feb 2022 21:42:17 GMThttps://www.kin-connect.org/restaurants/yassins-falafel-house

Yassin Terou, Owner of Yassin's Falafel House

Yassin Terou came to Knoxville as a Syrian immigrant in 2011. He chose Knoxville because he was looking for “a nice city, and Knoxville wasn’t very expensive.” He also liked the climate and being near the University of Tennessee.

After applying for asylum in 2012, he learned he could apply for a green card since his wife, a Palestinian who had come to Knoxville 17 years prior to Yassin, was an American citizen.

When a friend offered use of the Walnut Street building in 2014, Yassin took his love for downtown Knoxville and opened Yassin’s Falafel House, a Mediterranean restaurant. With just two plastic tables, it was a humble start. Using the kitchen at a different restaurant, He made about 20 sandwiches a day. However, in time, the people of Knoxville wanted more of his locally-famous falafel, and he was able to buy kitchen equipment and add more dishes to his menu, like shawarma and gyros. Now his team makes 20 sandwiches an hour and most recently, he has added plant-based meat choices to the menu. He says the business grew due to the help of his current business partner and the Knoxville community in general.

Yassin opened his business because he wanted to share “good food and good love” with those of his new home city. He also wanted to build relationships. While the business’s start was a challenge, he always knew his business would be a big part of his life. He never expected it to grow to what it has become today. He also never expected all the love and support that has come from the people of Knoxville. Yassin’s future business plans include opening 2 or 3 more restaurants in Knoxville before potentially branching out to surrounding areas like Maryville and Oak Ridge.

Yassin’s Falafel House currently has two Knoxville locations: 159 N Peters Road (Phone: 865-247-7567) and downtown, 706 Walnut Street (Phone: 865-219-1462), both operating 11:00am - 9:00pm (closed Sunday).

Watch Yassin win Reader's Digest & Good Morning America's Nicest Place in America (2018).

Watch now

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