From Thailand to Oregon, With Love:
How Nong’s Khao Man Gai blossomed into two multihyphenate locations
Location: Portland, OR
Restaurant type: Fast casual
Cuisine: Thai
Years open: 15
The start: In 2003, Nong Poonsukwattana left her home in Bangkok, Thailand, and followed her partner to Portland, Oregon. When the relationship didn’t last, she needed a way to take care of herself in a new country. After being denied employment by convenience stores and retailers, she decided to get creative. Relying on the cooking skills she learned from her mother, she began to work in kitchens, settling into a beloved Thai restaurant that was heralded by critics. There, she honed her skills and built her confidence, eventually pitching her own concept of Khao Man Gai, which in Thai loosely translates to “chicken and rice.”
“I wanted to cook something that wasn’t on every Thai restaurant menu. That gamble paid off because the dish got noticed,” Poonsukwattana recalled. In 2009, she went on to purchase a food cart for $800 (and a Square Reader), and in that moment, Nong’s Khao Man Gai was born.
The challenge: Poonsukwattana knew very little about marketing. At the time, social media was becoming more and more prevalent, so she decided to teach herself everything there was to know about X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) to help spread the word about her new business. She also leaned into the food cart community and asked for help and tips on how to grow a business. These steps helped expand her reach until eventually a local newspaper, The Oregonian, noticed her and wanted to interview her. But she was skeptical.
“In my head, I have all the things to worry about for the next day’s operation, like my whole operation—I wasn’t thinking about being in the press,” she said. But she went along with it anyway, and the day after the piece was published in the newspaper, she had customers waiting up to two hours to taste her food. For her, this emphasized the importance of the power of media — from social media to the news media. From there, she leveraged every media opportunity. She went on to be featured in Eater, Vice, Bon Appetit, and even an episode of the Netflix food show “Somebody Feed Phil.” Her social media profiles now have over 20k+ followers.
The present: Today, Nong’s has two locations, sells merchandise, including her famous Nong’s Khao Man Gai sauce and a chicken and rice meal kit, offers catering services, and has an online store. And her business is continuing to grow.
The insight: When it comes to what advice she’d give other businesses, she’s clear: “Tell your story,” she said. “[Previously], I was working for an American chef doing Thai food. I always wondered, 'When there are thousands of Thai restaurants, why is his getting the attention?'” After examining the business more closely, a lightbulb went off for her. “He knows how to explain the food, how to communicate the story, and how to talk to the press.”
Square products used: Square Register, Square Gift Cards, Square Reader, Square Marketing, and Square Online
