Ends of Eras: Thai Grocery, etc.

Ends of Eras: Thai Grocery, etc.

Thai Grocery on Broadway is soon to be no more. I just called and was told the building was sold and merchandise will be relocated to 5353 N. Broadway.

Years ago, Mike Gebert and I had this idea to do a cable food show called Gorilla Gourmet (“Gorilla” picked up on the animal imagery of Chowhound, of which we were then relatively new members, and “Gourmet” is just a funny, retro word that alliterated). We did one program about Maxwell Street Mexican, which some of you might have seen, and then we started on another program about Thai Secret Menus…soon, however, we got distracted and bogged down starting a new site, LTHForum, which satisfied our food hobby, and kept us otherwise focused, so we pretty much let the next GG installment go into the archives.

Anyway, we had shot some footage at soon-to-be-defunct Thai Grocery, and watching it is a little like watching “Lil' Bush” – there’s a younger me, baby C2, a youthful Wiviott, etc, plus it’s just a little unsettling for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. Oh well, it wasn’t that long ago…it just seems that way.

The resourceful MikeG has dusted off the film canister and set up the Thai Grocery segment at:

http://www.vimeo.com/852227

Hope you enjoy it...and see if you can spot the gorilla!

Thai Grocery
5014 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
+1 773-561-5345‎
+1 773-769-0800

I used to go there once in a while. Are there any other Thai-specific groceries in town?

Sad news indeed. Im a little younger than most on here (I think) so I started my culinary adventures within the last 5-6 years and Thai Grocery was one of my first places explored. I remember reading about the place on Misty's website "sweet tooth" and drooling over the sound of "Thai fried spare ribs"--moments after reading the article I was in my car headed north on Broadway.

Great video, David...missed the Gorilla, but watching you guys slurp duck parts was great fun! It's a shame we'll be misssing out on such an enthusiastic purveyor of both prepared and raw foods...

Mhays wrote:missed the Gorilla

Hint: Gorillas like bananas.

That's a very nice piece! (I saw that gorilla). At dinner at Elephant Thai last night, Ann told me that Bale is going to be moving into the Thai Grocery spot.

David Hammond wrote:I just called and was told the building was sold and merchandise will be relocated to 5353 N. Broadway.

I presume--without checking or being certain in my mind--that the address you give is for Golden Pacific. Is that correct or are they (or someone else) opening a new store?

Edit: I have now checked and that is, indeed, the address for Golden Pacific. Though it is not Thai-centric, it is pan-Asian and an excellent, spotless place with an extremely helpful owner.

Gypsy Boy wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I just called and was told the building was sold and merchandise will be relocated to 5353 N. Broadway.

I presume--without checking or being certain in my mind--that the address you give is for Golden Pacific. Is that correct or are they (or someone else) opening a new store?

The guy I spoke to on the phone just gave me the address, but I believe he was referring to an existing store, so it could very well be as you presume. My understanding is that they are not opening a new store.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!

Thai Grocery is my favorite market along Argyle! Friendly, inquisitive staff. Unusual buffet. Lively produce. Local products.

son of a bitch







guldarnit

I saw the gorilla. [Well, let me be more philosophically precise: I saw a representation of part of the hand (paw?) of a gorilla.]

That's the owner, I presume? Man, does he know his stuff or what? If you folks lose him, you're losing a bunch. My consolations...

Geo

I had been meaning to mention this as well. Thai Grocery, for me, is one of the great neighborhood ethnic grocers in Chicago. There are obviously many huge, full service places serving the larger Polish, Mexican, Viet, Korean, even Filipino communities. To have a laser-focused Thai place meant a lot in an age of Pan-Asia and Pan-Latino, to me at least.

Although Golden Pacific is a swell store (it is indeed where the imports will go), I will miss going to a Thai grocery store knowing that the focus and most of the stock (and customers) are Thai.

I do hope that GP carries the house-made (or at least locally made for Thai Grocery) takeout items, such as curry puffs, Isaan sausage, naem, etc. But I doubt it. I doubt even more that the steam trays full of unapologetically Thai curries, tubs of nampriks, and Thai mackerel will appear at the somewhat antiseptic (but still very good) GP. And I'll miss the guys that owned/ran the place. Nicer folks you won't meet.

PS, the story I got (and it's posted in the store) is that the owner is retiring after serving the Midwest Thai diaspora for 34 years. It seems the import biz remains and will ship to GP. They import good stuff. The main guy behind the counter at Sun Wah said he heard Ba Le might take the space.

Hope La Unica never succumbs.

JeffB wrote:I had been meaning to mention this as well. Thai Grocery, for me, is one of the great neighborhood ethnic grocers in Chicago. There are obviously many huge, full service places serving the larger Polish, Mexican, Viet, Korean, even Filipino communities. To have a laser-focused Thai place meant a lot in an age of Pan-Asia and Pan-Latino, to me at least.

Although Golden Pacific is a swell store (it is indeed where the imports will go), I will miss going to a Thai grocery store knowing that the focus and most of the stock (and customers) are Thai.

I do hope that GP carries the house-made (or at least locally made for Thai Grocery) takeout items, such as curry puffs, Isaan sausage, naem, etc. But I doubt it. I doubt even more that the steam trays full of unapologetically Thai curries, tubs of nampriks, and Thai mackerel will appear at the somewhat antiseptic (but still very good) GP. And I'll miss the guys that owned/ran the place. Nicer folks you won't meet.

PS, the story I got (and it's posted in the store) is that the owner is retiring after serving the Midwest Thai diaspora for 34 years. It seems the import biz remains and will ship to GP. They import good stuff. The main guy behind the counter at Sun Wah said he heard Ba Le might take the space.

Hope La Unica never succumbs.

Not to mention, that's where I get my tubs of palm sugar(packaged for Thai Grocery). As long as that market's been there I've never had to use hardened bricks of palm sugar. I never got the proprietor's name which I should have...he's just the inquisitive, helpful guy at the register...which is more than I can say for the employees of many Asian markets I've patronized. My earlier post is conversationally off-the-cuff, no snark intended, I sincerely lament the passing of this great little store. I understand Erik M. no longer participates in this forum, but perhaps word could be passed along to him that this thread exists and he, in turn, might pass along to the shop the goodwill Thai Grocery created in the food-inquisitive community. It's a thought.

It's a common story, isn't it, unfortunately. The first generation after the diaspora of a people tightly maintains the food and language aspects of the culture. But their kids couldn't care less. So then it ultimately passes over to corporate entities, unless we're unlucky enough to lose it entirely.

One interesting thing that has been found, however, is that the grandkids frequently have a growing interest in their elders' culture, particularly in the language. The University of Kansas has discovered a huge well of interest in Slavic languages comprised by third generation folks from the original population of Kansas City Kansas, who arrived c. 1905-10 after the vineyards in the old country crashed under pressure from phylloxera.

But still. The great groceries and restaurants are gone. Long may they live.

Geo

I too am saddened by this store closing. I live in the suburbs and work in Evanston, and once i heard about this store i knew i just had to go. I have made the trek only 3 times i think, but each time i have found great new ingredients that i could find nowhere else, ESPECIALLY in the suburbs.

I never spoke with the owner, but was delighted by all of the ingredients that i could find that were authentic. And boy do they make a huge difference in the dishes i prepare. Plus their prices were so much lower than the next best place i found(an online thai grocer).