When Tom’s family emigrated to the U.S. from Thailand, they first settled in Hollywood, where they ran four bars, including one on Sunset Boulevard, where a young Tom Suanpirintra swept the floors. Later, after the family moved to Seattle, Tom’s mother opened Bellevue’s Thai Kitchen (1981), which has been credited as one of the first restaurants to introduce Thai food to the Pacific Northwest.
Tom graduated from Interlake in 1985 and he studied to be an airplane mechanic. But his passion for cooking and his family’s dining heritage proved to be a powerful pull — so in 1994 he founded the restaurant Thai Tom. Located steps from the University of Washington, the restaurant quickly built a following for its incredible Thai food at affordable prices. Crowds of young people packed into the small 26-seat dining room to enjoy the intense spice levels, while enduring the waves of heat emanating from the open kitchen. And the restaurant quickly landed on critics’ lists of favorite Thai places around town. “Tom Suanpirintra knows what he’s doing — he just does it at lightning speed,” wrote Seattle Met.
In addition to his restaurant, Suanpirintra was a real estate investor, car collector, and dedicated animal lover, who owned and operated a dog shelter in Thailand. But food was always his primary form of expression. And his dedication to the profession went far beyond the dollar. “We would not close if there were people who wanted to eat,” says a former employee. “We were there to serve people. And while we made money, it was in a way that was honest and pure and charismatic, offering so much more in value.”
Chef Tom was a legend and a role model to so many young Thai cooks in the Pacific Northwest, and even though his restaurant lives on, his loss will be felt immensely in the region. Sadly, he passed away on May 11, 2021, after developing a sudden brain aneurysm. It was the day before his 55th birthday.
Chef Tom leaves behind a legacy of wonderful food, a generous spirit, and an unmistakable presence on University Way.
His obituary can be found here.
