An Indian restaurant in downtown Roanoke has closed, and a Thai food eatery is moving in.
Thai Orchid is taking over the former space of Swagat Indian Cuisine on First Street.Thai Orchid was forced to vacate its previous downtown location on South Jefferson Street when the Jefferson Motor Lodge site was sold late last year and ultimately closed. Thai Orchid had operated at the lodge for less than a year.
The motor lodge since has been demolished, and there are plans to build a structure to house Social Security Administration offices in its place.
The owner of Thai Orchid, Richard Sarayudej, told me that he considered opening an eatery in Norfolk, where some of his friends reside. But he couldn’t find a location there.
And the Swagat space in downtown Roanoke opened up. This restaurant apparently closed several months ago, but the reason is unclear.
Sarayudej said Thai Orchid should open by July. Currently, he’s cleaning up and adding new tables inside this space, which he is renting. Tong’s Thai is another downtown thai restaurant on Salem Avenue.
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