Remembering the Beloved Chef and Proprietor Behind Seattle’s Thai Tom

For years, when diners lined up in front of Thai Tom restaurant in the U District, they knew they would have an experience beyond what they would eat. Chef and owner Tom Suanpirintra moved with the grace of a dancer while cooking. His long black hair was tied in a bun, and silver jewelry dangled from his neck and wrists. Everything in the cramped kitchen contributed to the economy of the movement. From the oil to the spices to vegetables and meat, all ingredients had to be precisely coordinated, as Suanpirintra worked for up to 11 hours at a time. Whenever the chef needed a short break, his staff would stop all production before reheating the oven.

The fire would jump out of a pan and then “people would get the best meals of their lives,” says former Thai Tom chef Travis Holley.

The restaurant’s family, friends and long-time customers now mourn such a beloved artist. Tom Suanpirintra suddenly passed away on May 11th, the day before his 55th birthday, leaving a legacy of wonderful Thai food, a generous spirit and an unavoidable presence on University Way. Thai Tom is forging on, led by Suanpirintra’s well-trained successors, but the kinetic culinary energy the chef has brought to the neighborhood is sorely missed.

The chef as a young man Courtesy of Tom Suanpirintra’s family

Hospitality has always been part of Suanpirintra’s history. After his family emigrated to the United States from Thailand, they settled in Hollywood and ran four bars, including one on Sunset Boulevard, where a young suanpirintra swept the floors. When the family moved to Seattle, his mother Lisa Suanpirintra Ruhl opened Bellevue’s Thai kitchen in 1981, which is considered one of the first restaurants to introduce Thai food to the Pacific Northwest.

Suanpirintra graduated from Interlake High School in Bellevue and studied aircraft mechanics. But his passion for cooking and the family’s culinary heritage proved a strong draw – and he founded Thai Tom in 1994. Just steps from the University of Washington campus, the restaurant quickly built a following for its incredible Pad Thai and floating rama at affordable prices (less than $ 5 per plate at the time). Lots of young people crowded into the small, 26-seat dining room to soak up the intense spice levels while enduring the heat waves emanating from the open kitchen.

“As a high school student in Puyallup, I would sneak into Seattle for something to eat,” says Daniel Baldridge, who is engaged to Suanpirintra’s niece Praew. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever had in the suburbs. The long lines, the four-foot flame that scorched your eyebrows when you finally sat down, then that steaming, perfectly charred plate of pasta that the chef presented to you himself. “When Thai Tom won over the locals, he landed on Seattle’s critics’ lists for the most popular Thai spots in the city. “Tom Suanpirintra knows what he’s doing – he does it lightning fast,” wrote the Seattle Met.

In addition to the restaurant, Suanpirintra was a real estate investor, car collector, and dedicated animal lover who owned and operated a dog house in Thailand. But food was always his primary form of expression, and his commitment to the profession went beyond the dollar. “We wouldn’t close if there were people wanting to eat,” says Holley. “We were there to serve people … and while we were making money, it was in a way that was honest and pure and charismatic and had so much more value.”

“Chef Tom is a legend in the Thai food industry. He’s always greeted newcomers and taught them how to passionately cook Thai food, ”say Mark and Picha Pinkanow, co-owners of the other U District restaurant, Mark Thai Food Box. “So many of them have opened their own Thai restaurants all over Seattle. We are very sad about Chef Tom’s death. Thank you for being a role model for us. May your soul rest in peace and may be peace with you all. “

Suanpirintra is survived by his wife Junya, his four younger sisters Tammy, Lisa, Cindy and Jenny, his nieces and nephews Celina, Praew, Prueth, Conner, Trick, Cierra, Brody, Siam, Pete as well as the friends and extended Thai Tom family. “Even though Tom is gone now, we’re so happy that his spirit is alive and well,” says Baldridge.

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