Thai Rama’s owners are preparing to move from one Crystal City location to another a short distance away, but the new location will provide them with about triple the space, they say.
The restaurant – which serves what its owners call “authentic Thai cuisine” – is slated to be relocated from 907 N. Truman Blvd. to 606 N. Truman Blvd. sometime next month, said Carl Pitman, who owns the business, along with his wife, Nina. Their son, Caleb, manages the restaurant.
“We’re definitely getting close (to the move),” Carl Pitman said. “It’s going to be in May, for sure”
He said the restaurant will likely be closed for two weeks prior to the relocation.
Thai Rama has been open for 5 1/2 years at its current spot.
“We’re moving for a combination of reasons,” Pitman said. “There’s better parking and we’ll have about triple the space. We’re in 2,000 square feet now and will have 5,400 square feet in the dining area, plus now we’ll have a banquet room. We’ll have 100 seats in the dining room, which is about double what we’ve had, plus about 140 more in the banquet room.”
Thai Rama devotees can expect the menu and food preparation to remain the same, he said.
“People are nervous, worried we won’t cook the same,” he said. “We don’t know how to do it any other way.”
He said customers choose any number of dishes from the 80 items on the menu at different times, but the Nam Tok beef and crab rangoon in particular have legions of fans.
While remodeling at the new site continues, people may notice the two 10 1/2-foot statues the Pitmans had made in Thailand and imported to Crystal City.
“We had to get the Thailand government’s permission to take them out of the country,” Pitman said. “It was a big deal. They weigh about 2,500 pounds apiece. I will have a security camera on them.”
He said the restaurant currently is run with eight people, including the three Pitmans.
“I’d like to add four more between the dining room and kitchen,” Pitman said.