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Thai restaurant Chao Baan to open at $52M Chroma development

The family who owns the King & I Restaurant is opening a Thai restaurant in The Grove.
Credit: Anthony Harris | ShootingTheShot
Chao Baan will open at the Chroma development.

The Prapaisilp family, which owns the Global Foods Market and United Provisions grocery stores and the King & I Restaurant, Oishi Sushi and Oishi Steakhouse, is opening a Thai restaurant at the $52 million Chroma development in The Grove.

Chao Baan will open at 4089 Chouteau Ave. late next week, officials said.

David Sandusky, pitmaster and owner of Belleville's Beast Craft BBQ, will open the doors Saturday to Beast Butcher & Block in The Grove neighborhood in St. Louis. The new barbecue joint, located at 4156 Manchester Ave., has been in the works for the past two years.

"My dad is from southern Thailand, closer to Malaysia, and my mom is from the Northeast, closer to Laos," Shayn Prapaisilp said. "My idea was to bring those two regional cuisines together under one concept."

Chao Baan, which roughly translates to "the people," will serve homestyle Thai flavors that aren't usually found in restaurants, officials said. The menu will still feature traditional dishes like pad Thai and tom yum, but the goal is to introduce brand new flavors.

Although Mission Taco Joint was hatched in St. Louis, it's found plenty of love in Kansas City, co-founder Adam Tilford said. The street taco-style restaurant opened in 2013 and expanded beyond the St. Louis market in August 2017 with an area location at 409 E. 18th St.

RELATED: BEAST Butcher and Block opening in The Grove this weekend

Guests will see dishes like miang kham, a wrap similar to a lettuce wrap with dried shrimp, fresh shallots and fresh ginger served with tamarind-palm dipping sauce. Another traditional menu item is kaeng som, a spicy, fragrant fish soup with bamboo shoots. The new restaurant also will feature a full bar with wine, beer and cocktails.

Chao Baan will occupy 3,900 square feet of street-level retail space. The Koman Group and Green Street St. Louis are co-owners and co-developers on the $52 million Chroma project.

Up-Down STL, first proposed for the Central West End in early 2017, will open its doors June 14. The Kansas City-based arcade bar ran into opposition from neighbors soon after announcing it would enter the St. Louis market.

Chroma sits adjacent to Prospect Yards, a half-mile section of Midtown that includes such mixed-use developments as City Foundry and the Armory, plus a $25 million Element by Westin hotel.

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