Owner Gowhnou Lee, who operates several Sy Thai restaurants, opened the space on Friday in The Albert, a 127-unit, 12-story luxury apartment complex. Among its retail neighbors are Detroit Bikes and Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters.
The simple menu doesn’t deviate from that of the Go! Sy Midtown location, which includes traditional Thai favorites like pad Thai, panang, fried rice, and drunken noodle.
However, Lee went a different direction with the interior, improving on the rather vanilla space in the Cass Corridor. She tapped Patrick Thompson Design, whose principal, Patrick Thompson, told MLive that the agency set out to capture the gritty vibe of Bangkok’s street food scene.
"All through the streets in Bangkok, there's plastic stools people sit on outside. We captured that with the red chairs and we picked lots of bright energy colors that compliment the sky lanterns," Thompson told MLive.
"They've been used for years to celebrate any festivities in Thailand."
The expansion isn’t the only iron owner Gowhnou Lee has in the fire. She’s building out a small Asian mart and boba tea shop that’s expected to open by early May next to her Cass Corridor restaurant.
And in Capitol Park, Go! Sy Thai will be joined by a new specialty market/bar, Eatori, planned for the Dan Gilbert-owned Malcomson Building.
