What started as a modest Portland food cart in 2016 is quickly growing into a culinary brand with a loyal following.
Chef and owner Kim “SuperKim” Pathumratanathan launched SuperKim Crab House to highlight the bold, vibrant flavors of his Thai heritage. Raised in Thailand, his passion for cooking began out of necessity and was shaped by family tradition. He learned by watching his mother and grandmother prepare fragrant meals using fresh, spice-filled ingredients.
Now, the SuperKim brand is expanding.
SuperKim Crab House and SuperKim Chicken House are now operating under one roof in Seattle’s Pioneer Square at 166 S. King Street.
SuperKim Chicken—formerly known as SuperKim Khao Man Gai—is a Thai chicken and rice concept first launching in May in Bellevue. The team had previously run SuperKim Crab House out of the same Bellevue Towers space at 1100 Bellevue Way before switching over to the chicken and rice menu.
Co-owner Patta Tarn told What Now Seattle the Bellevue location struggled with its all-electric kitchen, which created challenges for the crab concept as the Pioneer Square space runs on gas, offering more flexibility.
“We did try to use it, to do a full menu of the SuperKim Crab House,” Tarn said. “But the busier we got, we realized it’s not going to be long-term successful for the crab house concept.”
Tarn said the team brainstormed ways to work around the limitations of the electric kitchen and ultimately developed the chicken and rice concept to suit Bellevue’s busy office crowd, focusing on speed and convenience during the lunch rush. The streamlined menu proved successful, and the team found it easier to manage orders compared to when they served the crab-focused menu.
Even with the success of SuperKim Khao Man Gai—now SuperKim Chicken House—issues with the landlord led to the decision to relocate and rebrand the concept in Pioneer Square, where it now shares a space with the crab house.
“I think it’s the perfect timing because at the same time, Pioneer Square is getting back to Seahawk season which we know it’s going to be super busy,” Tarn said.
Although both SuperKim Crab House and SuperKim Chicken House operate in one location for now, the team plans to keep the brands separate moving forward.
“The goal is to basically get the brand out there and look into an actual location toward the end of the year after combining this location. We always wanted to build something that can be duplicated or expanded into a multi-unit location,” Tarn said.
With SuperKim Chicken House’s simpler menu, she believes expansion is well within reach.
For now, customers can enjoy both concepts in Pioneer Square.
