Small Business Spotlight: Sawatdee

Article by Becky Fillinger

Mother and daughter leadership team, Supenn and Cyndy Harrison, run the Sawatdee empire of deliciousness. The story is one of grit, determination, innovation and adaptability. We talked to Cyndy and Supenn about the early beginnings, famous fans and what’s on the horizon.

Cyndy and Supenn Harrison

Q:  We like to tell the immigration origins of our local small business success stories. When did Supenn immigrate to the US? Did she come to Minneapolis right away? When did she become a citizen?

Supenn:  I came to Minnesota in 1972 to go to the U of M to attend graduate school for my Masters of Arts in Education. In 1974, I graduated and didn’t know what to do with the degree and my life. I met my husband at the U and we married in 1973. We went to Thailand to settle there after graduation, but it didn’t work out and we returned to Minneapolis. I had a hard time getting a job so I worked a manual labor janitorial job at Abbott Northwestern. I brought egg rolls to my colleagues there and they loved them so much they encouraged me to sell them. So, I opened a small food booth at the Minnesota State Fair in 1976. I also became a US citizen that same year. I was the first in the family to move to the US and I applied for my brothers and sisters to emigrate here too. In 1979, I opened the first Thai restaurant in the state, which evolved into what is now Sawatdee Thai Restaurants.

Egg roll stand at the Minnesota State Fair

Siam Cafe, 1981

Q:  Your website mentions that part of Sawatdee’s success is attributable to “Supenn’s knowledge and understanding of her target market.” How do you stay up to date in understanding the customer? Is the customer different in each of your brick and mortar locations?

Outside the Washington Avenue location, 1990Cyndy:  In the beginning, we were the only one in a five-state region offering Thai cuisine, and many people did not know what it was. We tended to have a clientele that were familiar with Thailand (either originally from SE Asia or having traveled to the area). We also educated guests regarding what Thai food is. The Twin Cities only had American, Chinese and Mexican food at the time. Since then, Thai food has become a more common ethnic food category and our target market has expanded significantly.

Our brick and mortar locations are all similar and offer the same classic recipes, but there are differences (i.e., we are not franchised with pre-made sauces). We cook in the traditional Thai method that doesn't use measuring tools and no pre-made sauces. Every dish is mixed with the spices and ingredients as requested by the customer. For example, if a customer orders Volcanic Hot, the amount of sugar, salt, garlic, etc. may change to create the balance needed with that level of spice. Additionally, a Volcanic Hot in our St Paul location will be hotter than in our Maple Grove location since we are adjusting to the local taste buds. We have locations in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Maple Grove, St. Cloud and Bloomington – the spice mix is different in each location for our dishes based on customer preferences. 

Q:  Your website mentions that Supenn’s cooking added to the Rolling Stones’ waistlines. What is the backstory to this sentence?

Supenn:  In December 1994, the Rolling Stones ordered catering from Sawatdee to the concert venue. Then again in 1999, we catered to the concert venue and they later ordered take-out for the plane ride. They even put our "Thai it, You’ll like it" sticker on their guitar cases. It was so much fun to feed them and so many other celebrities, including Prince, who loved our shrimp fried rice, Neil Diamond, Amy Grant, Dave Winfield, Kurt Russell and more!

Q:  How has Sawatdee navigated through the COVID-19 restaurant shutdowns in the last 10 months?

Cyndy:  We have stayed open throughout the shutdowns, offering take-out and delivery. We have also created the Sawatdee Safety protocols to enhance the COVID-19 safety of our restaurants. This includes enhanced sanitizing protocols, employee health screenings and temperature checks, mask wearing, social distancing, medical grade air purifiers and more.

Socially distanced tables

Q:  Is there a dish on your menu that you wish more people would try?

Cyndy:  I love Toam Yum. It is a traditional savory soup with amazing flavors of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galanga. It's wonderful especially if you feel under the weather.

Toam Yum

Q:  Supenn – you have mentored many area chefs and restaurant managers. What are your thoughts on launching so many careers?

Supenn:  I've been doing this work for over 40 years and I've trained and mentored so many wonderful people. In the beginning, I partnered with several people to open new locations. But several others also branched off and created other Thai restaurants. It's so wonderful that the Twin Cities has become a mecca for Thai food with so much innovation and variety. And I'm so proud and grateful to be part of that legacy.

Q:  What’s new with Sawatdee in 2021?

Cyndy:  Our Minneapolis location at 607 Washington Avenue S just completed a facelift to our dining room. New paint, flooring, lighting, entry doors, host area, and entrance to the party room. That's been an exciting project that was two years in the making. We used the second shutdown as the time needed to complete the project while staying open for take-out and delivery and the staff could continue to work.

This year we also hope to get back to our catering. We have always offered full service catering including weddings, private parties and corporate events, but we have been focused on expanding this business over the last three years, including marketing, wedding shows, partnering with venues, purchasing necessary rentals and more. COVID-19 has completely stopped the catering business from full service weddings to small corporate drop-offs. We hope these will resume in earnest in the fall when some staff return downtown and into 2022.

Q:  How may we follow your news?

Cyndy:  On our website at www.sawatdee.com and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Come and see what we’ve done with the renovations!

"Thai it, You’ll like it."