A financier opens a Laotian restaurant in Toronto to keep family legacy alive
In Grade 10, Lits Kong won a financial grant that led to her family opening a Laotian restaurant. She didn’t know it at the time, but that strong tie between business, food and family would become central in her life decades later.
For a high school project, she created an acclaimed business plan, which led to a government grant. The earnings helped her parents buy a building in Winnipeg, where they were living at the time, and eventually, open a restaurant in the space named Lao Thai.
For Kong, ample responsibility started at a young age. At six-years-old, she started waking up early to make her parents sticky rice, eggs and stir fried vegetables before rushing off to school and back home in time to have dinner on the table for her family at 5 p.m.
“I was very, very sheltered,” Kong said. “I only knew Lao cuisine growing up my whole life.”
Kong’s mother was pregnant with her when their family crossed the border from Laos to Thailand during the Vietnam War. She was born in a refugee camp and by the time they arrived in Canada, she was 4-months-old.
As an adult, Kong moved from Winnipeg to Toronto to pursue finance. Two decades into her career, she was working as a mortgage specialist for several clients in the Queen and Dufferin area and noticed a vacant property at 2 Gladstone Avenue. It was perfect for a restaurant.
Six months later, in April 2018, Kong opened a second Lao Thai restaurant, building on her parents’ Winnipeg location, while still working in the financial sector.
Gang Phet red curry at Lao Thai in Toronto, on Gladstone Avenue, near Queen and Dufferin. (Supplied).
“My heart and soul is….I love food. But at the same time, finance and mortgages and estate planning is another part of me that I love,” Kong said. “I just thought, why not do both?”
Within the business’s primary years, the pandemic struck.
Kong was the only full-time employee at the Toronto location, answering the phone, managing deliveries and pick-ups, all while cooking every dish and working as a mortgage specialist.
“I was dying,” Kong said. For three months, she had a job posted to hire another employee, but no one applied.
Meanwhile, after two decades of serving the community, the Lao Thai in Winnipeg was forced to close. Kong made an executive decision. “I needed my mom,” she said.
Pad Thai at Lao Thai in Toronto, located on Gladstone Avenue, near Queen and Dufferin. (Supplied).
She closed her restaurant for more than a week, drove to Winnipeg unannounced and told her mother she had three days to pack-up her things and drive back to Toronto with her.
To this day, Kong still only has a couple of part-time employees that come in on weekends, but for the time being, she has her mother by her side in the kitchen.
Back in high school, Kong won the financial backing that paved the way for their family’s first restaurant; years later, her mother is returning that opportunity, serving as a bridge of sanity during an onerous time.
“I'm hoping to keep the family legacy going on that way,” Kong said.
ABOUT TABLE TALK
Table Talk is a weekly CTV News Toronto series that explores the people who shape Toronto’s food scene, published every Friday at CTVNewsToronto.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.