Orrapan Botthaisong, who began her career with a food truck, is on the verge of opening her third Thai restaurant in Denver — this one in downtown’s historic Larimer Square.
Som Dee Signature, a spinoff of Som Dee Thai Kitchen, which opened in 2024 in the Uptown area, is taking over the space at 1442 Larimer St., formerly home to Cru Food & Wine Bar, Botthaisong said. The restaurant could be open by August.
It’s a dream come true for Botthaisong, who said she’d wanted to be in Larimer Square since before her first restaurant, La Mai Thai Kitchen, opened in Edgewater in 2022. She moved from Thailand to Denver over ten years ago to study business at the University of Denver. Now her Thai food excursions have attracted more of her family to the United States, including her parents, after whom she named her restaurants.
She seized the opportunity to move into the retail and restaurant hub when a realtor emailed her to pique her interest in the former wine bar space, she explained. (Cru, a national brand, now has a location at Denver International Airport.) On the square, she’d be able to get her fiery, upscale Thai dishes in front of tourists and downtown prowlers.
“It’s the name, you know?” Botthaisong said of Larimer Square, equating it to the “best location” in Denver.
Som Dee Signature, once again named after her father, will feature the same specials of Som Dee Thai Kitchen, 1598 E. 17th Ave.. Though the menu is still being worked out, she said the chef who will be leading the kitchen has 20 years of experience cooking in Phuket, a major city in Thailand.
The restaurant has a basement where Botthaisong plans to serve a separate, fixed multi-course menu in a fine-dining setting. In all, she expected the restaurant to be fancier than her other two locations.
