One of Birmingham鈥檚 leading Thai restaurants has closed its doors after 16 years.
Thai Edge in Birmingham city centre, was one of the first three restaurants to move into
Within a decade a dozen other restaurants had sprung up nearby.
The site closed two weeks ago and is currently being totally redeveloped.
It is set to reopen by the end of March as a bar and restaurant called Siamais.
It will be owned by Nishil Nathwani 鈥 the 26-year-old creator of the Aluna cocktail bar at the Mailbox.
His parents, Harish and Nancy Nathwani, founded Thai Edge and they also opened sister restaurants in Cardiff, Bristol and Leeds, but they had reached an age where they wanted to retire from the day-to-day running of a restaurant chain.
Their Cardiff Thai Edge restaurant closed because the St David鈥檚 Centre was being redeveloped and the Thai Edge in Bristol was recently turned into an Aluna bar by Nishil.
Thai Edge Leeds has been bought by a third party which now has sole rights to the name.
The closure of Thai Edge in Birmingham follows the demise of Le Monde at Waters Edge in Brindleyplace, which the Birmingham Mail revealed had closed in January.
Its director, Bob Norton said several factors were to blame including all of the food being freshly prepared in a part of town where people generally 鈥榳ant to be served quickly鈥.
Last week, the Mail also revealed that Fishylicious had closed in the Jewellery Quarter just five months after opening.
It owner, Sarah Thortnon, is pursuing the building鈥檚 landlords over a problem with damp affecting the whole of the restaurant and kitchen.
What happens next?
Although Thai Edge has closed for good, it is set to be reborn as Siamais by the end of March.
Employing 25-30 staff, it will be both a 60-seat bar and a 鈥渉igh class Thai鈥 restaurant, with 100 covers.
Siam is an old name for Thailand.
Nishil said: 鈥淚鈥檝e chosen the name Siamais to reflect the nature of Siamese twins 鈥 two different people sharing one body.
鈥淭he bar and restaurant will have separate entrances and be divided by a curtain.
鈥淚 grew up with Thai Edge and it鈥檚 a great cuisine instead of the normal Indian and Italian restaurants.
鈥淭urning it into a bar and restaurant, I want Siamais to be the best of both, with new and authentic chefs in the kitchen and front of house staff we鈥檝e trained at Aluna.
鈥淭hese days if people are going out they want somewhere special 鈥 and I want to be the best I can be.鈥
Nishil has applied for a music licence so that a saxophonist or similar might play on Valentine鈥檚 Day or New Year鈥檚 Eve, for example.
鈥淲e are not going to be a live music venue,鈥 he added.
Advertisements for waiters promise 鈥榓 brand new bar and restaurant concept in Birmingham鈥.
Prospective applicants should 鈥榟ave a real passion for food, cocktails, customer service鈥 as well as a year鈥檚 experience in the hospitality sector.
Inside, the layout is completely changing, with a new area on the Oozells Square frontage being given over to a bar.
The main dining area will be towards the rear.
An application has been made for a Variation of Premises Licence (Licensing Act 2003) by to amend the hours for the sale of alcohol from 10am-1am each day.
Another planning application seeks to create an external seating area facing Oozells Square, enclosed by glass screens with new, retractable awnings above.
They will complement the similar provision that is now available at next door鈥檚 Italian restuarant Cielo and at Piccolino on the opposite side of Oozells Square.
What is Thai cuisine?
Herbs and roots from lemon grass to basil, coriander, galangal, krachai, ginger, garlic and chillies are used to create subtle blend of spicy flavours.
Thai Edge aimed to fuse centuries old Oriental recipes with European influences to create a unique taste.
Nancy, one of seven children, was born in Kenya to Indian parents but grew up in Sandwell after her family moved to the 海角视频 in 1968.
Other than good home cooking, there was no commercial food tradition in the family.
She worked for the Inland Revenue and then in a bank, while Harish had a watch business and later ran a chain of 14 restaurants himself.
Thai Edge diners included cricketer Andrew Flintoff and tennis star Maria Sharapova.
The Indian cricket team also dined there and when West Bromwich Albion won promotion back to the Premiership in 2010 they took over the whole place.
That year, Nancy told the Birmingham Mail: 鈥淐ompetition is there and it is a challenge.
鈥淲e like to reinvent ourselves and put something different on the menus.鈥
It now seems as if Nishil has taken mum鈥檚 philosophy to heart 鈥 and is now embarking on his own revolution, with plans to open a dozen Aluna bars during the next three years.
He also hopes to develop the Siamais concept in cities like Manchester and Liverpool.
Siamais Limited was incorporated on December 5, 2016.
