Rearn Thai
By Anthony | January 16th, 2006 | 9:25 pmToday at work some friends and I went to Rearn Thai for lunch. They have a new location, conveniently situated directly across the street from the old location. The food is pretty much the same (which is a good thing), but the new building is very different.
Their previous location had a cozy feel with many Asian touches in the decor. The new place is quite the opposite. Though the exterior has the sweeping curves of a traditional Asian-style roofline, the interior has a high, two-story ceiling, large wrap-around windows, and a much more modern feel. Aside from the Asian-subtitled program playing on the TV and an ornate wooden screen in the entrance, the restaurant would have been just as well suited for almost any other style of food.
Over plates of noodles, rice and meat of varying degrees of spicyness, my friends and I wondered why they went in the direction they did with the new building. We mostly questioned the practical considerations. With the combination of the two-story dining area and the tall windows that spanned nearly three entire walls, the heating costs in the winter are going to be enormous. The aesthetic wisdom of all the windows was questioned as well – one friend pointed out that on that particular section of Market Street, the view you are treated to consists mainly of cars hurtling by the Duron Paint store across the street at 50 miles per hour. Finally, the dining area actually seems to be smaller than the one at the previous location. It took about 10 minutes for us to be seated, and I saw several people come in and then leave rather than endure the wait. It’s going to make it harder to pay those heating bills if they can’t fit in as many customers.
It’s still a nice place to eat, as the food is very tasty, but I wonder if their decisions regarding their new building are going to end up hurting the business.
January 17th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Wierd. Love the food and the old guy. Thanks for the update.
January 17th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Yep, those are the two best things about Rearn Thai. I love the “old guy” too. Hes so friendly and comforting. I know he’s at the new location cause I saw him up above the dining area in his office once, but I’ve not seen him on the floor yet. Having him around would make the new atmosphere much more friendly. Hopefully we’ll see him next time we go.
February 28th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
Rearn Thai rocks the whole entire world. I’m not worried about the new location hurting their business. I haven’t been yet, but they could be serving out of a cart on the side of the road and I’d still eat there over and over again!
March 10th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
Man, I love Rearn Thai. Duck basil and a Singha.
Good blog, btw. 🙂
May 15th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
That’s pretty funny – check out my review of Rearn at chefmoz.org under NC,Greensboro. Great minds think alike.
K
February 21st, 2007 at 11:02 am
Sorry to comment on such an old topic but I ran across it while I was trying to find their phone number (and possibly a lunch menu). Rearn Thai started out on West Market when I was really young (maybe 10, so almost 18 years ago). At that time they were down closer to the intersection of Guilford College and Market, where there used to be a Blockbuster vido. It was literally a hole in the wall, painted all yellow at first. But they had the best fried tofu, and my father was addicted to their pad thai. I think the original building only had, at most two booths. I guess each new building has been a step up for them. I like the new building and hope with the addition of the new International Market across the street it will be a good investment for them.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
My family has been going to Rearn Thai since it opened in a converted gas station a few miles west of the current location. In the 15 years we have eaten there, we have had excellent food and excellent service every single visit to the restaurant. Even though we moved to Winston-Salem during those 15 years, we ALWAYS drive the 30-40 mins (depending on traffic) to Rearn Thai. And no… we don’t get a discount (nor ask for one).