A few years later, a fortune teller back in Thailand told Toon that she would return to American, not to gamble in casinos, but to open restaurants in New York to serve the Thai food which her mother taught her to cook as a child to Americans.
Toon was skeptical but returned to New York City to visit friends. There she met a restaurant designer (Tom) who fascinated her with his "no-nonsence" approach to the restaurant business.
"You be my partner. I look for a place!" is all Toon said to Tom who was building three restaurants at that time throughout the city of New York
"I found a storefront on Bank and Bleeker Street," stated Toon in describing how the two of them first met. "I took him to several different locations but he only liked the one on Bleeker Street."
They became partners and Tom showed that he could pick locations for "Toon's Bangkok Cuisine", that lasted 30 years in that Bleeker Street location.
Subsequently, Toon went on to open a myriad of Thai-styled restaurants and coffee shops in New York including Ginger Toon in the financial district, Toon Thai Cafe, Silom Thai, & Cafe Sage.
Now Toon is using her four-star cooking talents to pair traditional Thai sauces, Thai herbs, and Thai cooking techniques with traditional American/Continental food to produce a unique cuisine. And Tom and Toon are once again partnering in this new location on Broadway to create an American restaurant in the Theater District with an Asian flavor, combined with entertainment, a lively bar and a great atmosphere.
Welcome to Tom & Toon...
Tom Rolston
moved to
“When I first met Toon in 1980 she was a waitress in a restaurant we were building on
We’re going to build a Thai restaurant of our own and we want you to be our partner,” proclaimed Toon to me as she grabbed my shirt sleeve and said, “Come on! Let’s go! I have a location to show you.”
We finally settled on a Band and
In 1985 Tom also purchased The Depot Restaurant in
Today, thirty years after Tom and Toon’s fateful relationship began, a brand new restaurant collaboration is in the making that blends the cultural, stylistic and palate tastes of both partners along with their names. TOM & TOON, scheduled to open in late May of 2010, is an American / Asian fusion cuisine that will also feature “Live Music” right in the heart of the theatre district in Midtown Manhattan.
