With no buyer lined up, Bangkok Star may close its doors for good earlier than planned

A downtown Port Huron Thai restaurant that has served the community for more than two decades may be closing sooner than intended.  

Bangkok Star owner Chris Bevins has been looking to sell the restaurant for the last several months, citing his hope to start a new chapter in life late last year.

But the restaurant announced earlier this month that May could be its last. And so far, no buyers is lined up to take the reins.

“We want to stay open, obviously, until we can get somebody to purchase it. But at the same time, we don’t want to go so far into debt that we get ourselves in trouble,” Bevins said Thursday. At the time, he said they weren’t planning anything to formally recognize closing the restaurant.

“We were aiming originally for June 1,” Bevins said. "But it’s looking, perhaps, we’re going to be maybe sticking around for another week or two.”

The business, 421 Beers St., is still listed for sale for $115,000, as it has been since November.

Bevins has worked at the restaurant himself leaving the military in 2000, working with family and eventually buying it from his parents.

Leaving things now, he said is “definitely emotional,” adding, “Our family has been doing this since 1999 when we bought it from some friends. So, it’s been in the family for quite some time.”

“Honestly, with the way inflation and everything has been, it’s just so difficult for restaurants to make a profit right now that I would say you’re going to see a lot of restaurants either selling or going out of business,” Bevins said. “By September, the supplies are getting really difficult to get, especially in a niche market like ours.”

In December, Bevins was weighing his next steps, including potentially opening a food truck, as well as spending more time with his family. On social media, the restaurant has also hinted at future plans.

When asked Thursday, however, Bevins didn’t get specific and said he was still mulling over “other approaches to our Thai food.”

“I don’t want to quite share yet because nothing is quite solid,” he said. “But we’re working on a couple different things, writing plans out, business plans and seeing what things look like.”

For now, interested customers still had time to visit or grab takeout at Bangkok Star.

Did he have a recommendation? Bevins said Pad Thai is their number-one seller.

“Other than our spring roll, that’s hands down the most popular item. Shoot, we’ve been open for five hours today, and I think we made 18 pad Thais,” he said. “Compared to, I think, we’ve only made two fried rices, which is our second-most popular.”

For more, visit the restaurant on Facebook.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.