Our founder, Danny Wongsuwan, grew up in Thailand and arrived on the Houston food scene in 2006, when he started selling chicken teriyaki at a few flea markets in the Houston area. He had previously owned a Thai restaurant in Arlington TX, but wanted a fresh start in Houston. 

It was tough at first. The flea markets were only open during the weekends so money didn’t come in easily, but he was persistent. After a year of building a reputation for excellent teriyaki, he was approached by a well-connected Thai woman looking to start a Thai restaurant in Humble.

She had ideas for a menu and collaborated with the executive chef for a Thai diplomat to build an authentic Thai menu that fused traditional recipes with quality ingredients. Danny was on board and together, they opened the first Nara Thai in Humble, TX. The restaurant was a repurposed sandwich shop that barely had the basics to operate.

The first year was a challenge. Danny was not experienced in operating a full-service restaurant. He had to learn everything, from how to fix the equipment, to learning how to connect with his customers advocating for his food, and ... how to prepare the food he loved.