Sirikate “Best” Posuwan and Sean Cowan opened at 1550 Blake St. just before Christmas. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)
Sean Cowan knows he “went against the grain” by opening a restaurant in downtown Denver where the last place reported a big drop in sales.
“But you have to do that with investing,” he said.
Cowan and his fiancée, Sirikate “Best” Posuwan, opened Le Do Thai at 1550 Blake St. right before Christmas. He said the business has been doing about $2,000 a day in sales, which is “over breakeven.”
The 2,500-square-foot location was previously home to Mono Mono Korean Fried Chicken, which restaurateur JW Lee closed after four years in the summer following a 25% to 35% drop in sales across his 22 Denver-area eateries.
Cowan, whose background is finance, and Posuwan met three years ago and are set to marry this summer. For the past year and a half, they’ve been operating Thai Me Up, their mostly takeout joint in Greenwood Village. Before that, Posuwan co-owned a spot in Longmont.
Lee, the Mono Mono owner, also owns a restaurant near Thai Me Up, Cowan said. The trio knew one another when the LoDo space became available.
He and Posuwan wanted to open a downtown outpost, although they also explored options in Cherry Creek. Cowan mentioned the city’s investment along the 16th Street Mall and nearby openings, like Francois Safieddine’s upcoming steakhouse across the street, as reasons for optimism in the area.
Le Do translates to “seasons” in Thai and is also a play on the neighborhood’s name, Cowan said. The pair took over the remaining five years on Mono Mono’s lease. Cowan said they didn’t change the space much, other than putting up a new sign and taking down some posters and curtains.
The menu is driven by Posuwan, a native of Bangkok who grew up cooking in her mother’s restaurant in Thailand before immigrating to the United States 10 years ago. Cowan said early customer favorites have been pad thai, panang curry and peanut nakhon, his personal favorite. There’s also an array of stir fry and fried rice dishes and other classics, such as drunken noodles.
“Some of our menu is very Americanized,” Posuwan said. “But we also want to be a space with traditional food so Thai people can come and hang out.”
Cowan said he thinks there’s room to grow, especially with the dinner crowd — lunch is 60% of business so far.
“We’re so young and early into this,” Cowan said. “But downtown Denver is definitely not dead.”
Sirikate “Best” Posuwan and Sean Cowan opened at 1550 Blake St. just before Christmas. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)
Sean Cowan knows he “went against the grain” by opening a restaurant in downtown Denver where the last place reported a big drop in sales.
“But you have to do that with investing,” he said.
Cowan and his fiancée, Sirikate “Best” Posuwan, opened Le Do Thai at 1550 Blake St. right before Christmas. He said the business has been doing about $2,000 a day in sales, which is “over breakeven.”
The 2,500-square-foot location was previously home to Mono Mono Korean Fried Chicken, which restaurateur JW Lee closed after four years in the summer following a 25% to 35% drop in sales across his 22 Denver-area eateries.
Cowan, whose background is finance, and Posuwan met three years ago and are set to marry this summer. For the past year and a half, they’ve been operating Thai Me Up, their mostly takeout joint in Greenwood Village. Before that, Posuwan co-owned a spot in Longmont.
Lee, the Mono Mono owner, also owns a restaurant near Thai Me Up, Cowan said. The trio knew one another when the LoDo space became available.
He and Posuwan wanted to open a downtown outpost, although they also explored options in Cherry Creek. Cowan mentioned the city’s investment along the 16th Street Mall and nearby openings, like Francois Safieddine’s upcoming steakhouse across the street, as reasons for optimism in the area.
Le Do translates to “seasons” in Thai and is also a play on the neighborhood’s name, Cowan said. The pair took over the remaining five years on Mono Mono’s lease. Cowan said they didn’t change the space much, other than putting up a new sign and taking down some posters and curtains.
The menu is driven by Posuwan, a native of Bangkok who grew up cooking in her mother’s restaurant in Thailand before immigrating to the United States 10 years ago. Cowan said early customer favorites have been pad thai, panang curry and peanut nakhon, his personal favorite. There’s also an array of stir fry and fried rice dishes and other classics, such as drunken noodles.
“Some of our menu is very Americanized,” Posuwan said. “But we also want to be a space with traditional food so Thai people can come and hang out.”
Cowan said he thinks there’s room to grow, especially with the dinner crowd — lunch is 60% of business so far.
“We’re so young and early into this,” Cowan said. “But downtown Denver is definitely not dead.”
