Pho-Jita Fusion food truck owner to open Sa Lao Thai Cafe in Garden Oaks/Oak Forest area
A long-established food truck will soon branch out into a new brick-and-mortar concept.
Sa Lao Thai Cafe will be located in the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest area, said owner Souli Phaduangdet, who also owns Pho-Jita Fusion food truck. The restaurant was intended to open last month, but the final few details are being worked out before the soft opening, which is expected in a few weeks to a month from now. The initial opening phase will be with close family and friends. Houston-based developer Wolf Capital Partners, led by Zach Wolf, owns the property on North Shepherd Drive. The free-standing restaurant space used to be home to Los Dos Hermanos Mexican Restaurant, and Wolf recently told the Houston Business Journal the space is "going to be a really cool project. "The food truck was something Phaduangdet always wanted as part of a plan to eventually grow into a restaurant. That way, she could gain experience and establish a following that could transfer to the brick-and-mortar store.
“We had our food truck for almost 10 years now, and we’re just ready for a brick-and-mortar,” Phaduangdet said. “It’s really hard when you have a food truck. You have to find the locations; when it’s hot you don’t get customers; when it’s cold you don’t want to come out. It’s a lot of stuff against a food truck, but at the same time it’s our stepping stone.”
While the food truck has its own difficulties, it has been expensive to move into a brick-and-mortar store, Phaduangdet said. As one of the older and few gourmet food trucks on the streets of Houston, it was much cheaper to maintain a truck than a restaurant. When the food truck started about 10 years ago, it cost about $32,000, whereas now the brick and mortar is costing $150,000 so far with more costs to go. Over the next two weeks to a month, Phaduangdet estimates additional expenses to reach $40,000.
“This is a whole new ballgame for us,” Phaduangdet said. “But we’re learning a lot, so it’s a learning experience as well.”
Phaduangdet's contractors are saying that prices are going up right now, attributing it to the Covid-19 demands that have hit the market lately. Additionally, like many restaurants and other businesses, she is having trouble finding employees because of the pandemic. With the delta variant, Phaduangdet is unsure of what is going to happen.
“It’s been really, really bad,” Phaduangdet said. “Nobody wants to work right now, and I have so many friends that have restaurants, and they can’t hire anyone. Right now what’s been kind of funny is a lot of these high school kids are actually coming in, and they are actually getting waitressing jobs and stuff because for them the tips are really good, and they don’t make that kind of money at that age, so they bring all their friends. So now you see a lot of younger kids working in restaurants.”