Thai Arroy restaurant closes in Federal Hill
A Federal Hill staple for Thai food has closed.
A sign posted on Thai Arroy’s door Tuesday afternoon confirmed the closure and thanked the restaurant’s customers for their support.
“We will miss you,” said the note, signed by Thai Arroy’s Baltimore team. “Goodbye for now and best wishes.”
Thai Arroy opened at 1019 Light St. in 2002. A few weeks after opening, founder Chakkarpong “Tom” Ritdech told The Sun he aimed to make authentic Thai dishes with American taste buds in mind: “Thai people like the spiciness at the five-star level,” he said, while “Americans like it two to three stars.”
Ritdech, who immigrated from Thailand in 1995, was also enthusiastic about sharing Thai culture with his customers. He made his own wallpaper for the restaurant using images of a Bangkok temple, and played a DVD with facts about his home country.
The wallpaper was later switched out for a bright green coat of paint, but Thai Arroy continued to serve core dishes such as chicken satay skewers, pad Thai and panang curry as well as specials like ginger filet fish and roasted duck with basil sauce.
The restaurant became a “steady presence” in Federal Hill. “On any given night, when folks are sitting around wondering what they’re going to do for dinner in Baltimore, the suggestion of Thai Arroy will stop the dithering,” Sun dining critic Richard Gorelick wrote in 2013. “…the specialty at Thai Arroy is consistency, which is how a restaurant gets itself into a city’s heart and winds up on personal lists of go-to places.”
The restaurant’s management could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Thai Arroy has a second location in Virginia Beach, according to its website.