Toon spotted a vacant storefront on the corner of Bleecker and Bank and wanted to take a gamble on a business of her own. She dialed the number on the listing. With no credit or business history, she was denied. This fueled tenacity. Day after day she called the leasing office hoping to convince Mr. Wills to take a chance on her.

One afternoon, during her routine call, the receptionist answered with unexpected news:

“Mr. Wills is in the hospital.”

Thinking quickly, Toon replied, “Would you mind sharing where he’s staying? He’s my uncle, and I’d love to visit him.”

A moment later, she had her answer.

Toon walked into Saint Vincent’s Hospital with a bouquet in hand and stepped into Mr. Wills’ room. As she revealed her face from behind the flowers, he shook his head with a smirk.

“You must be the lady calling every day,” he said. “If you want the space, it’s yours.”

“Who am I kidding”, the lack of qualifications surfaced and she begun to back out but with the persistence of the land lord and the money pooled by her friends who believed in her vision, Toon opened the doors to her very first restaurant—marking the beginning of Mama Toon’s journey.

Pioneers bringing Thai food to the Tri-state area

Back in the 80’s Thai food was rare to come by. Guests Traveled from all over to eat her food. Some notable regulars were Robert Deniro, Liam Neeson, Judd Hirsch, Other guests include Rosa Parks & Ed Koch.