Laotian restaurant Snackboxe Bistro opened three years ago in Doraville under chef Thip Athakhanh and her husband, Vanh Sengaphone, after years of perfecting the art of Laotian home cooking, reports Eater.
Then, in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US in full force, Athakhanh closed Snackboxe’s dining room, as well as her stall at Battery Atlanta food hall Ph’east. Throughout the year, Athakhanh cooked at home, even starting a supper club with friends, and began to make homemade pepper and banana chips, which she’s been selling now at Snackboxe.
Reportedly, in pursuit of a manufacturing space for her chips, Athakhanh found the spot that is soon to be Snackboxe Bistro’s Loatian barbecue joint, which will double as a manufacturing space for the chips she now sells wholesale.
“I absolutely love Duluth and this location,” Athakhanh told Eater. “But because of the patio, I said, ‘No, we need to do a restaurant as well.’”
The new space, at 1960 Day Drive NW, was once the home of Prime Bar and Lounge, but under Athakhanh will have a Lao-French aesthetic similar to that of Luang Prabang, a city in northern Laos. Reportedly, the star of the show at the new spot will be the Lao barbecue, a common street food found in Lao markets.
As for the patio, Athakhanh is reportedly planting lots of banana trees and a community garden, where customers can pick and bring home their own vegetables.
Snackboxe Bistro should open in Duluth in September, and a Buddhist blessing ceremony is in the works for August. Apparently the ceremony will be open to the public, so stay tuned for more details.
