When people walk into Sawaan Thai Kitchen, they see the soft glow of the lights, the carefully matched colors on the walls, and the beautiful “Cloud Rings” on their plates. They see the “Heaven” that my wife and I dreamed of.
But today, I want to tell you about the part of the journey you don’t see.
The “Artist” vs. The “Firefighter”
My passion is interior design and installation art. I want to spend my days thinking about color palettes and the perfect plating. But the reality of running a restaurant in San Francisco means that most days, I am not an artist—I am a firefighter.
One moment, I am adjusting an art piece; the next, a refrigerator is acting up, a delivery is three hours late, or a system in the kitchen has crashed. Running a restaurant isn’t just about cooking; it’s about solving a hundred small puzzles every single day before the first customer even walks through the door.
The Hidden Work
The “hassle” is in the details that happen when the lights are low:
- Inventory Battles: Counting every lime, every chili, and every bag of noodles to ensure we never run out of the “Thai-Thai” flavors you love.
- The Physical Toll: Being on my feet for 12 to 14 hours,
- The Mental Weight: Managing a team, keeping up with San Francisco’s regulations, and making sure the “system” runs perfectly so our guests never feel the stress we feel.
Why Do We Do It?
There are nights when I am exhausted, looking at a mountain of paperwork or a broken dishwasher, wondering why we started this. But then, the doors open.
I see a guest take a bite of our Drunken Noodles and their eyes light up. I hear a table laughing and enjoying the “Cloud Rings” we named so carefully. I see the colors of the restaurant finally looking exactly the way I imagined in my sketches.
In those moments, the “hassle” fades away. The broken machines and the late deliveries are just the price we pay to create a little bit of Sawaan (Heaven) for our community.
Thank you for being patient with us as we navigate this journey. It’s a lot of work, but for the love of Thai food and art, it is worth every second.
— Siri
