New Thai spot taking over former Tio Pablo space in Shockoe Bottom

Tio Pablo had been open in the Bottom for 13 years. (Mike Platania photo)

A new Thai spot is picking up where a Mexican eatery left off in Shockoe Bottom. 

Yak Yai Thai is preparing to open at 1703 E. Franklin St. The space near the 17th Street Farmers Market was formerly Tio Pablo’s, which closed last summer.

Behind Yak Yai Thai is a family team: husband and wife Ken and Marinda Sourinphoumy and Ken’s sister, Charintip Wiphatwibulkit. Ken said that his background is in IT and that Wiphatwibulkit has experience in the restaurant industry. This is their first time opening their own eatery. He said Yak Yai will be a “regular Thai restaurant.”

“We want to have authentic food and good service,” Ken Sourinphoumy said. “We want it to feel like a real Thai restaurant.”

(Courtesy Yak Yai Thai)

Yak Yai’s menu will include staples such as Pad Thai and Pad See Ew, but Sourinphoumy said Yak Yai will also serve some lesser-known Thai dishes, namely soups such as Tom Yum Soup and pork noodle. 

Yak Yai’s landlords will be Paul Keevil and Linda Lauby, who opened Tio Pablo in the building in 2011 and also own nearby Millie’s Diner and Lulu’s. Keevil and Lauby bought the Franklin Street property, along with a handful of others in the area, in 2017 for $1.6 million. 

Tio Pablo’s 13-year run ended last June, and the Sourinphoumys and Wiphatwibulkit recently signed a lease on the 1,300-square-foot space. One South Commercial’s Ann Schweitzer Riley and Lory Markham represented Keevil and Lauby in the deal. 

Sourinphoumy said the trio is working on redecorating the space with eyes on a mid-to-late-February opening. He said the plan is for Yak Yai to be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and added that the business may pursue an ABC license and be open later on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Another new Thai spot, Thai Boat, is in the works in the Fan from the family behind Mom’s Siam. 

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