After seven years of introducing St. Louis diners to the regional Thai cooking of his family’s roots, Shayn Prapaisilp will close Chao Baan (4087 Chouteau) in The Grove after service this Sunday, September 20. The announcement was made on social media and via press release earlier today.
The restaurant opened in June 2019 on the ground floor of the Chroma development, with a menu that ventured beyond the more familiar curries, pad thai, and spring rolls found at many local Thai restaurants. Instead, Prapaisilp drew inspiration from the foods of his childhood and the regions where his parents grew up.
“This is definitely bittersweet,” Prapaisilp said in the press release. “I spent a lot of time with my grandmother as a kid, and so many of my memories of her are tied to what she cooked. I always joke that I had to open a restaurant to have some of my favorite dishes cooked for me again… I wanted to give those dishes a place and share a part of Thai food that St. Louis had not experienced.”
Reasons for the Closure
The decision, Prapaisilp says, stems largely from changing priorities, both within the family business and at home. Increasingly, his attention has shifted toward the family’s two international grocery stores, Global Foods Market in Kirkwood and United Provisions in the Delmar Loop, and exploring ways those businesses might serve more of the region.
“I’ve found myself drawn more and more to the grocery side of our business,” he said in the release. “That is still one of my dad’s great passions: finding foods from around the world and making them available here. I understand that passion differently now than I did when I was younger.”
The family’s other restaurants—Oishi Sushi & Steakhouse in Chesterfield, Oishi Sushi in Creve Coeur, and King & I in Richmond Heights—remain open.
The Concept
Chao Baan—Thai for “of the people”—was conceived to showcase the regional cooking that Prapaisilp grew up eating. His mother, Sue, came from Loei province in northeastern Thailand; his father, Suchin, grew up in Yala province in the south. The menu brought the cooking of those two regions together, relying heavily on family recipes passed down through generations.
From the beginning, Prapaisilp intentionally kept the menu focused, hoping that diners would explore unfamiliar dishes rather than default to Thai-American standards. “The flavors are full-fledged. There’s no holding back,” he told SLM when the restaurant opened.
Signature dishes include khao tod nam sod (a crispy rice salad with fermented pork sausage, ginger, herbs, lime, and fish sauce), mieng kham (leaf wraps with toasted coconut, dried shrimp, peanuts, lime, chile, and palm sugar sauce), beef nam tok, and gaeng som (a fiery Southern Thai soup).
Chao Baan also became known for its annual Dumpling Dinner. What began in 2022 as a one-night charity event sold out in less than 24 hours and evolved into an annual gathering of local chefs celebrating Asian food and culture, with proceeds benefiting organizations including the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis and The Very Asian Foundation.
The Future
Prapaisilp says his immediate focus will be Global Foods and United Provisions, as well as determining how the family’s grocery businesses can grow and evolve.
As for Chao Baan’s space in The Grove, there is no successor to announce yet. Prapaisilp says the family hopes that another restaurateur will eventually take over the space.
“We look forward to a great operator coming in and reimagining the space for the next chapter of a great restaurant in the Grove,” he said in the press release. “We have nothing to report at the moment, but we’re excited to see what this space transitions into.”
Until then, the Prapaisilps hope that longtime customers will return for at least one more meal—and perhaps one last plate of khao tod nam sod—before Chao Baan serves its final dishes on Sunday.
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
