New Thai restaurant for the Crossroads

For nearly 30 years a restaurant space at 1513 Grand Blvd. offered Thai food.

Now a new owner is updating the space for a new Thai concept.

Steve Srivisay plans to open S-E Asia Bistro at 1513 Grand Blvd. in May. It will have a short menu that will include authentic cuisine from Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos — noodle bowls, soups, salads and sandwiches, and specialties like red curry chicken.

But the crispy garlic chicken is expected to be one of the most popular items.

Srivisay attended culinary school in Los Angeles before recently going on a three month culinary tour of Southeast Asia.

He grew up in the Kansas City area and most of his family still lives here. It was during a visit with his family that he decided to move back and open his first restaurant.

“The Crossroads is an up-and-coming area. I’m really just impressed by it all,” Srivisay said.

Willy’s Cafe, which opened in the spot in 1981, served Chinese and Thai cuisine. The owners sold the restaurant in 2000 but then came back two years later to open Thai Paradise. They decided to retire and put the restaurant up for sale in 2009.

Metrowide Property Maintenance is gutting the space to expose its high ceilings and original bones.

Christopher Long and John Lewis purchased the building a year ago. They plan to open a loft event space on the second floor by late summer and eventually a rooftop deck.

This story was originally published March 12, 2014 at 4:47 PM with the headline "New Thai restaurant for the Crossroads."