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Kim's Thai, 938 W. Layton Ave., has closed its doors.
The news was shared earlier this week as a simple message on the restaurant's website. The notice offered no reasons for the closing but expressed gratitude to customers for their many years of support.
Kim’s Thai began in 2010 as a vendor inside the Pacific Produce grocery store on 27th Street, where owner Kim Paneboune offered up a variety of Thai dishes, mostly for carryout.
But, in spring of 2016, the restaurant made the move to a strip mall on Layton Avenue where it expanded its menu and added space for dine-in service.
The South Side Thai restaurant served a large menu of options, including hefty portions of delectable Thai fare on a heat scale of 1-10. Regular guests quickly found that ordering dishes above level 5 packed serious heat.
Highlights included flavorful curries (from red, green and panang to jungle curry) along with deliciously springy tod mun (fish cakes), a 10-pepper beef larb and hand-stuffed chicken wings served with hot sauce redolent of chilis and fish sauce.
I'll always have fond memories of soothing the incendiary effects of those spicy dishes with an order of sweet, creamy Thai iced tea.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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