While attending Cleveland State University, Torprasitkul worked part time at a sushi bar where he met a member of the Thai Cottage restaurant group who offered him a job in the restaurant business after he graduated. Though planning to return to Thailand, he instead moved to Texas in 2004 to take the job.
“I never thought that I would be in the food service industry,” Torprasitkul said. “It was destiny.”
Torprasitkul manages Silom Station as part of Thai Cottage’s management team, which has operated since 1997 and runs a number of restaurants in the Houston area.
The company was seeking to innovate in the Houston area and came up with Silom Station, Torprasitkul said, combining a coffee bar, Sit N Sip Coffee Brewer, and a restaurant, Dunch Thai Eatery. The eatery serves Thai street food and home cooking.
“We enjoyed it when we were there [in Thailand], so we want to bring those items to this location,” Torprasitkul said.
The restaurant, named after the Si Lom station on Bangkok’s subway system, is designed to have the same feel with a subway door opening to reveal street food vendors, the coffee bar, the eatery and eventually a bakery. Torprasitkul said he aims to make the restaurant a social hub where customers can get a cup of coffee, have a meal and linger to do work or chat.
Silom Station opened in Sugar Land in August 2021. Silom Station chose Sugar Land because of its fast growth, good housing and schools, and a large Asian American population. Silom Station also makes an effort to be involved in the community and encourages employees to build relationships with customers, Torprasitkul said.
“When you treat them like family, they’re going to come back,” he said.
Silom Station
222 Hwy. 6, Ste. 500, Sugar Land
281-340-0707
www.silomstation.com
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m., closed Sun.
