A Thai street food restaurant called Samyan is moving into the former Nua Thai space at 5410 17th Ave NW in Ballard, becoming the fourth restaurant concept to occupy the address in just six years. A window sign at the location already reads “Bangkok Food Guide,” and liquor license paperwork lists Tippawan Wongkaew as the new owner.
The news comes from My Ballard, which reported that Samyan has no website or social media presence yet, leaving many details about a possible opening date still unknown. Wongkaew previously co-founded Sabaijai Thai in Everett, a restaurant that has built a reputation for authentic Thai home cooking since it opened in April 2022 at 1707 Hewitt Avenue, according to the outlet’s own site. That original location has since drawn recognition from Restaurant Guru in both 2024 and 2025, and Wongkaew went on to expand the brand with a second Sabaijai Thai location in Marysville.
The name Samyan is a direct nod to Bangkok’s Sam Yan neighborhood, the urban street-food district that surrounds Chulalongkorn University and is anchored by a fresh market with roughly four decades of history, per Chulalongkorn University. Sam Yan is known for night food stalls and street-vendor fare rather than the sit-down curry houses many American diners associate with Thai cuisine, and Samyan’s branding suggests it intends to lean into that street-food identity rather than a traditional menu.
A Storefront That Can’t Keep a Tenant
Whatever Samyan becomes, it inherits a location with a restless history. Nua Thai opened at the address in December 2024 with dishes like Suki Yaki and Gui Chai Tod, but the restaurant lasted less than two years before vacating the space this year, the site’s report notes. Before that, the space housed Cycle Dogs, a vegan hot dog venue that occupied the storefront for three years before closing on January 31, 2024, after which the business reinvented itself as a mobile food cart parked outside Bickersons Brewhouse on Leary Way NW…