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Ayada Thai Expands Into Former Barbershop Next Door, Plans Outdoor Garden

By Katie Honan | June 6, 2016 3:59pm
 The famed Ayada Thai restaurant expanded to the adjacent barber shop to make it more comfortable for customers.
The famed Ayada Thai restaurant expanded to the adjacent barber shop to make it more comfortable for customers.
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DNAinfo/Katie Honan

ELMHURST — The popular Ayada Thai restaurant expanded last week to include an adjacent storefront — and the owner hopes to add a backyard garden and sidewalk seating in the future.

Owner Kitty Thammasat opened her small restaurant on Woodside Avenue eight years ago and it quickly became one of the best reviewed Thai restaurants in the city.

As eaters flocked to the small space for the som tum, the variety of curries, the rad nah noodle and more, the lines to eat got longer.

"It's always busy," Thammasat said, noting she would often send waiting customers to her brother's wine shop, Mai Thai, next door just so they wouldn't be out in the cold.

The new space, in a former barber shop, was acquired with her customers in mind and more than doubles her seating capacity.

"I want to make the customers more comfortable," she said.

Currently, the two sides of the restaurant look like two separate restaurants, since both spaces have different landlords and she's still working on finding a time to knock down the wall that separates the spaces.

However, both sides rely on the same kitchen, and she doesn't plan on changing up the menu at all.

She hopes to open a backyard garden by the end of the summer And in the future she'd like to add outdoor seating on Woodside Avenue.

But as far as the food goes, "it's still Ayada," Thammasat said.