Chef is leaving popular Thai restaurant in KC, but it won’t close, owners say
CORRECTION: This story has been updated with new information about the restaurant’s future after The Star heard Friday night from the business’s chief financial officer.
Popular Kansas City restaurant Waldo Thai is going through some changes.
After the general manager said Friday morning that the spot would close at least for a little bit, the restaurant’s chief financial officer said that evening that it would remain open at 8431 Wornall Road under different management.
Ted Liberda, who helped to open the spot in 2018, told The Star on Friday morning that he and his wife, Pam Liberda, are leaving the concept May 17 to focus on their other two restaurants: Buck Tui BBQ at 6737 W. 75th St. in Overland Park and MuNi at 316 Delaware St.
“It’s gonna be operating under new management, possibly, but it’s gonna take some time for the turnaround,” he said of Waldo Thai on Friday morning.
Later Friday, however, Scott Keithly, the restaurant’s chief financial officer, said it will remain open.
“(The Liberdas) made the decision this week that they were gonna move on, but we never told them we were gonna close the place,” Keithly said. “We’re just gonna hire a new chef and keep operating.”
Ted said they’re looking forward to another restaurant project. He can’t announce when, where or what it will be just yet, but he did say it will be in a “prominent location” on the Missouri side.
The Liberdas opened the restaurant in 2018 after Pam told her husband she wanted to open a restaurant that served the same dishes she grew up enjoying, specifically the Lanna Thai cuisine from Northern Thailand.
Such menu items include gaeng hung lei — a curry with braised pork belly, palm sugar and spices — and nam prik orng, which has pork-based relish, tomatoes, serrano peppers, and fermented soy beans and shrimp paste.
While it’s sad for the Liberdas to leave Waldo Thai, Ted said they’re excited for what’s to come.
“Heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s supported us throughout the years … So many wonderful memories and relationships in that place,” Ted said. “We look forward to the next chapter of our life.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 12:02 PM.