The Japanese restaurant Tachibana at 12967 Olive Blvd., in Creve Coeur has a new name – House of Thai – and a new owner – Megan Kusonlawan. Over the last 12 years, Kusonlawan and members of her family have owned a number of Thai restaurants in the St. Louis area including Thai Kitchen, Manee Thai, Thai Rama and Bhann Thai. As for Kusonlawan’s new venture, she bought Tachibana in May. The restaurant remains open for now, serving both Japanese and Thai fare, and Kusonlawan hopes to completely change the menu over to Thai offerings by September 18. With the help of her mother’s palate and passed-down family recipes, Kusonlawan will offer many similar dishes inspired from the same recipes that customers can find at Thai Kitchen and Manee Thai.
This article appears in September 2012.