The story of Queen Street West’s Lao Thai starts in Winnipeg. In 2002, while she was looking for work, Khamala Boonthajit found that her family recipes from her homeland, Laos, resonated with people. “I tried being a tailor. I tried to do grocery. Those didn’t work,” says Khamala. “So I made food for my neighbour to try. My neighbour loved it. I tried little bits with other people and they liked it.”
Khamala's daughter, Lits Kong, had moved to Toronto for school, gotten married and had a successful career in banking. But she soon had a change of heart and decided to become a restaurateur. “My mom was getting older and wanting to retire, and I loved to cook,” says Lits. She wasn't planning on moving back to Winnipeg, so she decided to open up the shop in Toronto in 2017 to continue her family's business.