When Chan’s Thai Kitchen closed earlier this year, it was to the wailing and gnashing of teeth from loyal patrons across Juneau.
But according to owner Curtis Hopson, he and his wife Chan, who is the namesake of the restaurant, will be reopening the Thai restaurant in late September.
“It was too much work, that’s one of the reasons we closed down,” Hopson said.
The reopened Chan’s will be at its old Auke Bay location, but it will feature a more streamlined customer service model.
“We’re gonna change the format a little bit,” Hopson said. “It’s a much smaller staff. We don’t expect to have table service.”
Thai restaurant closes after 21 years
The new-look Chan’s will still have seating inside, but the restaurant is expected to be more take-out oriented.
“The customers won’t see much of a change,” Hopson said. “Just a little cleaner and reorganized.”
The menu will also be downsized a little bit, but crowd favorites like Pad Thai and spring rolls will still be available, Hopson said. There will also be some new additions to the menu.
“We’re probably gonna have weekly specials,” Hopson said. “We have some ideas for some things that aren’t in Juneau right now.”
Hopson said that it’s unlikely that the former employees will return. At least some of them have already opened their own Thai restaurant.
Hopson said the reason the restaurant went on hiatus was to take some time to get some breathing room. Working in a restaurant can be physically taxing and running one more so.
“We were in business for 21 years,” Hopson said. “The system worked, but it was fatiguing.”
With remodeling of the kitchen for ease of operation and less physical stress, as well as the streamlining of their business model, Hopson is hopeful that the newest incarnation of Chan’s will leave them with more time to relax.
“After quite a while away, my wife and I are quite anxious to get back to it,” Hopson said.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 523-2271 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
