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
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
BREAKING 15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members today during a ceremony at British Columbia's legislature cenotaph commemorating the Second World War's Battle of the Atlantic.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
The Maple Leafs battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.