Former downtown Columbus restaurant Chili Thai has no immediate plans to reopen
Chili Thai, a popular downtown restaurant in Columbus that closed last year, is not planning to reopen despite rumors circulating on social media.
Over the last year owner Rachanee Dyer failed to sell the business, she told the Ledger-Enquirer. However, she and her niece, Jan, have discussed the possibility of reopening Chili Thai with Jan in charge of it.
The family is working with a lawyer to find out if Jan will be able to immigrate to the United States and if her status would allow her to run Chili Thai, Dyer said. They will not have any information about her immigration status until at least June, she said.
“I cannot run the business by myself,” Dyer said. “I used to have my husband.”
Chili Thai shut down last year after the family struggled with medical complications in 2020. Rachanee had a severe COVID-19 case that left her in a month-long coma, and her husband, Glenn, died following a stroke.
Former customers and friends have approached Dyer to ask about the Chili Thai reopening, she said, and rumors on social media have continued to spread about the fate of the restaurant. But Dyer isn’t sure how these rumors began because no decision has been made.
The restaurant is a long way from possibly reopening if it happens at all, Dyer said. If Jan is able to come to help, she said, reopening will still be complicated.
“If (Jan) comes, at least I will have to take two or three months before we can reopen,” Dyer said.
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
