Despite a wave of new restaurant openings in the Grove in recent months, the neighborhood is also seeing some longtime favorites close their doors, most recently Grace Meat + Three. Now, Chao Baan, the beloved Thai restaurant from the Prapaisilp family, has announced it will close after service Sunday, Sept. 20.
The closure comes as owner Shayn Prapaisilp’s focus has increasingly shifted toward his family’s international grocery businesses and his responsibilities at home. The family owns Global Foods Market in Kirkwood and United Provisions in the Delmar Loop, and Prapaisilp said he has found himself increasingly drawn to the grocery side of the family business.
“I’ve found myself drawn more and more to the grocery side of our business,” he said in a release. “That is still one of my dad’s great passions: finding foods from around the world and making them available here. I understand that passion differently now than I did when I was younger.”
Chao Baan opened in June 2019 with the goal of introducing St. Louis diners to regional Thai cooking, with a menu that went well beyond the Central Thai dishes most familiar to American diners. Its final weekend will be an opportunity for regulars to revisit staples including Khao Tod Nam Sod, the restaurant’s signature crispy rice and pork sausage dish; Mieng Kham leaf wraps; Beef Nam Tok; and Gaeng Som, a fiery Southern Thai soup made with fish, papaya, turmeric and chile.
Chao Baan was born from Prapaisilp’s desire to share the food he grew up eating. His father, Suchin, grew up in Thailand’s Yala province, while his mother, Sue, came from Loei in the country’s northeast. The restaurant brought those regional influences together through recipes rooted in the Prapaisilp family’s kitchens.
“Chao Baan came from the food I grew up with,” said Shayn. “I spent a lot of time with my grandmother as a kid, and so many of my memories of her are tied to what she cooked.”
The restaurant’s name means “of the people” in Thai, and that idea extended beyond its menu. Chao Baan became a gathering place for St. Louis’ food community and a way for diners to experience Thai dishes and culture outside the familiar Americanized canon.
That was particularly evident in the restaurant’s annual Dumpling Dinner, which began as a one-night charity event in 2022 and sold out in less than 24 hours. The dinner eventually became one of Chao Baan’s signature events, bringing together local chefs to cook alongside the Prapaisilp family while raising money for organizations including the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis and The Very Asian Foundation.
“We knew every dish would not be familiar. That was part of the point,” said Shayn. “We hoped people would come in, share food around the table and try something they had never ordered before.”
The Prapaisilp family opened Global Foods Market in Kirkwood in 1999, followed by United Provisions in the Delmar Loop in 2014. Both markets specialize in international groceries and ingredients from around the world.
The family’s other restaurants, including King & I in Richmond Heights, Oishi Sushi in Creve Coeur and Oishi Sushi & Steakhouse in Chesterfield, will remain open.
As for the Chao Baan space, there are no immediate plans to announce. Shayn said the family hopes another restaurant operator eventually takes over the space and gives it a new life.
“We look forward to a great operator coming in and reimagining the space for the next chapter of a great restaurant in the Grove,” said Shayn. “We have nothing to report at the moment, but we’re excited to see what this space transitions into.”
For now, Chao Baan’s final service is Sunday, Sept. 20. The Prapaisilp family is encouraging longtime customers to return for one more meal, whether that means another plate of Khao Tod Nam Sod or a last round of the dishes that made the restaurant a destination for regional Thai food in St. Louis.
