'Right time in the right location': New Thai restaurant is coming to Madison. See where
The first one went so well, he thought he would try it again.
Jackson native Will Puckett is opening a Thai restaurant in Madison after two years of success in Jackson.
Puckett is opening a second Tuk Tuk Boom on Madison Avenue in Madison.
“We have been looking for a second location and an area to expand in the Metro area,” Puckett said. “I have seen that area in Madison really beginning to grow in Madison. I like what (Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler) is doing. It looks like they have put a lot of effort into making that downtown area grow.”
He was convinced by his friend and real estate developer Bridgforth Rutledge to give the location a try.
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“Bridgforth had been talking to me about this for some time,” Puckett said. “It’s just the right time in the right location.”
The first location in Highland Village has been a roaring success
The name Tuk Tuk is a three-wheeled taxi in Thailand, making it a fitting name for a restaurant with plenty on-the-go ordering options. Customers can use the pick-up area inside the Jackson restaurant or a pick-up window located on the southeast corner parking lot of Highland Village. The restaurant also has indoor and outdoor seating for customers looking to dine in.
While the Madison location will be similar, it will be larger near Madison Marketplace at 961 Madison Avenue.
Opening is still a while away as Rutledge expects to start building from the ground up by the end of December. Puckett said he hopes to be open to the first guest by the Fall of 2024.
“This really is the epicenter of Madison,” Puckett said. “I see this area continuing to grow It's a great, unique neighborhood kind of spot.”
While there are other shops associated with Madison Marketplace, there is also Kristo’s Amerigreek next door and the 10,000 square foot Foxtail being built across the street.
"There will be restaurant space downstairs and office space upstairs," Rutledge said. "This will be a very nice and unique setting with a large outdoor patio. Will has rethought everything from the original restaurant and for this ground-up build. This will be bigger, more efficient and nicer."
While Tuk Tuk Boom is slated for the ground floor of the building, Rutledge does not have tenants just yet for the second floor.
"When the entire project is done, it is going to be very nice with pedestrian walkways between the buildings," Rutledge said.
It will be one big shopping area with lots of different buildings.
He also said that a redesign and revamping of Kristo's is part of the plan and that should begin at some point in 2024.
"We want to capture much of the same thing that we do in Jackson," Pucket said. "We are the neighborhood spot for takeout at night, but we also do a great lunch with the businesses in the area coming to us."
The original started off two years ago being open six days a week. Business has been so good that Tuk Tuk Boom is now open seven days a week, which was what Puckett had hoped for.
"While there has always been a goal of expanding, you just never know," he said. "But seeing the progression of the Jackson location made us feel like we could make the move to open a new location. Madison is that next step for us."
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Tuk Tuk Boom, a new Thai restaurant, to open in Madison, Mississippi
