Our Story

Savanh Thai Kitchen was born from Phounsavan's passion and love for people and food. Phounsavan is our head chef and a mother of three. Her father, Kamphou, was born in Thailand. He found the love of his life, Bounyoung, who is of Laotian descent. He moved to Laos with Bounyoung and started his family of six.

When the North Vietnamese Communist Party invaded Laos, Kamphou signed up for the Laos army to help protect his family. Fighting a gruesome war, he was captured and went to a prison camp for six years. During this time, his family escaped by crossing the river from Laos to Thailand and eventually made their way to Nepal, outside of Thailand. They stayed in a Christian refugee camp, where daughter Phounsavan used her talent to cook on Sunday and Wednesday services. She learned at 15 from her father's sister, who taught her all the family's secret recipes. Her aunt catered and would rent buildings to sell her excellent food before the war. The family moved to America in 1987. After six years, Kamphou was released from the prison camp and found his way to Irvington, AL, where the family had relocated with help from the Christian organization. He worked for a seafood company driving trucks and managed, with the help of all family members, building their own homes and separate greenhouses.

Phounsavan’s sister, Phousone, attended high school in Mobile, AL. She started her career at Boeing working all around the United States. In 2018, Phousone left the company to help achieve her sister's dream of opening a restaurant. They decided to call it Savanh Thai Kitchen as they wanted to incorporate “Savanh" from Phounsavan name as it means “Heavenly” in Thai/Lao. When you try her food, you can feel unconditional love and experience the symphony of taste and texture. Our goal for our restaurant is for every customer to leave with a smile, fulfilling their experience to share our piece of heaven with the Auburn Community.