Taste of Thai customers leave thank you notes after owners retire

John Shearer
·2 min read

The new year is often a time to make a new start, but for a popular Cedar Bluff area restaurant, it has been time to say goodbye after more than two decades.

The popular Taste of Thai restaurant on Town and Country Circle just off North Peters Road has closed in recent weeks. A couple of handwritten notes on the front entrance say that the restaurant has closed due to the retirement of the operators.

The notes also thank the customers for 21 years of support and patronage and encourage them to try Tuk Tuk Thai Fusion in the 9000 block of Kingston Pike and Pin Thai on Campbell Station Road for other Thai food.

The restaurant’s closing evidently brought sadness for patrons who learned of it shortly after the first of the year. Jesse Bowen wrote on Facebook, “Best Thai place in Knoxville permanently closed. RIP Taste of Thai.”

One of two notes found in front of the Taste of Thai restaurant on Jan. 10, 2023, tells of the eatery's permanent closing.
One of two notes found in front of the Taste of Thai restaurant on Jan. 10, 2023, tells of the eatery's permanent closing.

Melanie Howe, meanwhile, posted, “Sad news to hear of the closing of a Knoxville staple in the restaurant industry. Taste of Thai, you will be missed! Wished we could have had a farewell.”

Efforts to reach restaurant officials for more information proved unsuccessful. The restaurant had started about 2001 at 213 N. Peters Road in a smaller space in the shopping center across the street from the current stand-alone facility.

At the time of its opening, Knoxville had fewer Thai-focused eateries, with most of the Asian restaurants being Chinese restaurants or buffets, or Japanese hibachi-style grills.

The restaurant was known for such dishes as yellow curry plates, chicken with garlic sauce, drunken noodles, satay chicken or pork, Thai salads, Prik King pork, Pad prick dishes, fried spring rolls, Thai dumplings, and Tom Kha coconut milk soup.

Local restaurant reviewer Janelle Dinanath wrote glowingly of the restaurant in a 2007 publication when it was still in the shopping center. “If you’re looking for a meal packed with interesting flavors, a bit of exotic flair and maybe some heat, Taste of Thai takes the cake – or spice.”

The empty Taste of Thai restaurant is shown on Jan. 10, 2023. The restaurant closed in late 2022 following the retirement of the operators.
The empty Taste of Thai restaurant is shown on Jan. 10, 2023. The restaurant closed in late 2022 following the retirement of the operators.

She later went on to write, “A pleasurable concoction of aromas that include garlic and basil greet you when you enter.”

And now patrons are now having to grasp with the fact this pioneering local Thai restaurant is exiting the local food scene.

“Been eating there 11 years. So sad,” said Jonathan Beatty in another Facebook post.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Taste of Thai: Knoxville customers leave thank you notes for owners