Dearborn's Bangkok 96 Thai restaurant giving away free meals after power outage

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press
·1 min read

Bangkok 96 Thai restaurant in Dearborn is among the hundreds of thousands without power following Wednesday's winter storm. And to make sure no food went to waste, its owner, Genvieve Vang, cooked up all the restaurant's perishables and donated meals to those impacted by power outages.

Vang and her staff worked outdoors, cooking the restaurant's specialty Thai dishes and donating them to the community while supplies lasted. By 3 p.m., the restaurant was out of meals as more than 200 people came by for free meals.

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The meal giveaway started at noon Friday at the restaurant at 2450 S. Telegraph in Dearborn.

James Ferns, 54, of Dearborn Heights, left, who has been without power for days was delighted to pick up some freshly cooked Thai food after chef and owner of Bangkok 96 in Dearborn, Genevieve Vang, and her staff, also without power, emptied their restaurant coolers on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 to cook food in a giant wok with propane tanks and present the food to the community for free. "The community supported us through COVID," said Vang's daughter Christine Vang, 27, right. "This is our opportunity to pay them back," she added. Ferns commented: "It's awesome they not wasting nothing. ...I am so appreciative of this."

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"She is helping the community by having her food not spoil," said David Rudolph, Bangkok 96 spokesman. "It's a way to give back to the community and loyal customers."

Grateful customers get free food after a few days without power. Bangkok 96 chef and owner Genevieve Vang decided to gather her staff and empty their coolers and prepare meals for the community Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Worker Trinity Valente, 17, right, was not scheduled to work but decided to take part in the event.
Grateful customers get free food after a few days without power. Bangkok 96 chef and owner Genevieve Vang decided to gather her staff and empty their coolers and prepare meals for the community Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Worker Trinity Valente, 17, right, was not scheduled to work but decided to take part in the event.

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Vang is no stranger to charitable giving. She often helps the food insecure by donating healthy meals. She's a James Beard Award-nominated chef and a Detroit Free Press Food Fighter. She also owns Bangkok 96 Street Food at the Detroit Shipping Co. More recently, she launched Thai Feast, a line of Vietnamese Pho noodle mixes, Pad Thai seasonings, tempura mixes and gluten-free Thai hot chili pepper spices and seasoning mixes. Thai Feast products are sold at Meijer.

Chef and owner of Bangkok 96 in Dearborn Genevieve Vang is one of the 700,000 people without power in the area. Vang, her family and other workers emptied their restaurant coolers on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 to cook food in a giant wok with propane tanks and present the food to the community for free. "The community supported us through COVID," said Vang's daughter Christine Vang, 27, "This is our opportunity to pay them back."

Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bangkok 96 in Dearborn giving out free thai meals in power outage