Kittiwat Thai Kitchen expands to second Frederick location, offering 'express' carry out

Jun. 3—When Kittiwat "Kevin" Chukkrabutr came to the United States from Thailand in 2006, he started out washing dishes in a New York City restaurant. Sixteen years later, he's opened his second Thai restaurant in Frederick.

Kittiwat Thai Express opened its doors Tuesday at 181C Thomas Johnson Drive, near the Weis grocery story. It's about 10 minutes by car from the original location, Kittiwat Thai Kitchen, at 5205 Presidents Court, which opened in 2014.

Chukkrabutr worked in a range of restaurant jobs when he came to the U.S. He climbed his way up the ladder to become a general manager, then moved to Frederick in 2013.

"At the time, I was pretty daring," Chukkrabutr said in an interview at the Express location Thursday.

While he had experience in management, Chukkrabutr had yet to develop his kitchen skills when he opened Kittiwat Thai Kitchen. Now, after eight years of cooking flavorful and modern Thai food, he's ready for his next challenge.

Before the pandemic touched down in Frederick County, opening a second location was far from Chukkrabutr's mind. Dine-in customers were dependable.

Then, COVID-19 led more people to order takeout from Kittiwat Thai Kitchen.

Even as the pandemic eased, Chukkrabutr continued to see a large volume of carry-out orders. He also heard from regulars who work at Fort Detrick and wanted to order during the week, but only had so much time on their lunch breaks.

The new Express location, Chukkrabutr said, aims to address those needs.

While Kittiwat Thai Kitchen offers a larger menu and both dine in or carry out, Kittiwat Thai Express is carry-out only, with a smaller menu.

Chukkrabutr created the Express menu to highlight dishes he can cook quickly to order or make in advance each morning, then keep warm throughout the day. He estimates he can fill some orders in less than a minute.

Kittiwat Thai Express is also closer to Fort Detrick than its first location.

Chukkrabutr took care to select items for the Express menu that will work well for the faster-paced system.

When customers enter the Thomas Johnson Drive location, they will see a four-step ordering process laid out, in large print, on signs affixed to the wall.

Customers select a base of brown rice, jasmine rice or spring mix, then pick a protein of steamed tofu, grilled chicken satay, stewed pork shoulder or grilled salmon. Step 3 invokes the question of sauce — five-spiced, spicy basil, panang curry or green curry.

Last, customers can pick two sides from options of boiled egg, pickled carrot and cucumber, chilled mushroom salad, almond string beans and basil eggplant.

Fried delights such as taro crispy rolls and crab rangoon are also available. Drink offerings include frozen Thai iced tea, topped with boba.

Shelves around the front of the restaurant are stocked with bags of crunchy snacks, like tempura seaweed.

"It's going to remind me of my childhood," Chukkrabutr said, looking at the shelves.

The second night after opening, Chukkrabutr said, he was awake until midnight reading comments and feedback on the restaurant's social media.

For now, Chukkrabutr is handling all of the cooking at the Express location until they get settled. His brother and his family will relocate from Thailand to lend a hand.

"We're still working out kinks," manager Lily Lilinsinlapasunthorn said.

She joined Kittiwat Thai Kitchen shortly after it opened in 2014. She's looking forward to seeing how the Express location fares. She described the staff as a family.

"I think it gives a nice variety to the area," she said.

Chukkrabutr praised the Frederick community for welcoming ethnic restaurants.

"I got a lot of support," he said. "I'm very happy."

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