Try the Egg Rolls at Mae Khan's Kitchen
Micheal Posey has run the Richmond Marathon.
He’s scuba dived 45 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
Since he joined the Collegiate faculty as a Latin teacher a decade ago, he’s lost 250 pounds and, through exercise, diet, and healthy living, kept every bit of that weight from returning.
So starting a restaurant – Mae Khan’s Kitchen, he calls it – in a location where a string of predecessors have fallen by the wayside doesn’t seem all that daunting a challenge.
“There’s always some fear going into a new endeavor,” he said. “I really hope this will be a fruitful project.”
He’s scuba dived 45 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
Since he joined the Collegiate faculty as a Latin teacher a decade ago, he’s lost 250 pounds and, through exercise, diet, and healthy living, kept every bit of that weight from returning.
So starting a restaurant – Mae Khan’s Kitchen, he calls it – in a location where a string of predecessors have fallen by the wayside doesn’t seem all that daunting a challenge.
“There’s always some fear going into a new endeavor,” he said. “I really hope this will be a fruitful project.”
Late this past spring, Posey was looking for an investment opportunity and stumbled upon a site on Brook Road just south of Parham that was begging for a tenant.
His mother, a native of Thailand, operates Mae Khan’s Eggrolls, a successful take-out place in Gadsden, AL, so Posey reasoned that if the concept worked in a town of roughly 40,000, it could work in Central Virginia as well.
After his grades went in the book, he took a long weekend and headed home to nearby Birmingham for a crash course on the restaurant business and Thai cooking.
“My inspiration was to bring her product here,” he said. “I put on my teacher glasses, opened my journal, and documented everything.
“I wrote down everything from the proper way to roll an eggroll to how to cut cabbage to the holding time for food. I wanted to find out what works best in a fast food operation.”
As he grew more excited, Posey convinced his younger brother Jon-Paul and Jon-Paul’s girlfriend Heidi Vickers to move to Richmond to do the cooking and work the counter while he handled the business end of the venture.
The afternoon of graduation (June 11), he signed a six-month lease, and a week later, with all his permits in order though the sign, telephone, and credit-card reader were yet to arrive, Mae Khan’s Kitchen sprang to life.
Posey describes the menu as “a southern fried take on Thai food.”
He offers a variety of menu items.
There’re appetizers such as mozzarella sticks, a Bama roll, and chicken wings.
There’re combination platters, sandwiches (including the Posey burger), and desserts, all with a Thai twist.
There’re a variety of egg rolls, not your puny take-out-of-the-freezer-and-heat-in-the-microwave egg rolls but large, filling, tasty ones prepared while you wait.
The 3-for-$5.99 special is a meal in itself and can be quite addictive. Trust me on that.
“It’s huge, almost like a walking hamburger in an egg roll wrapper,” Posey said.
“We’ve gotten comments like, ‘It’s not your typical egg roll’ and ‘I’ve never had an egg roll like that.’”
An early highlight of Posey’s career as a restaurant owner occurred in mid-June when Ben Wallace, the former Virginia Union University basketball star who now plays for the Detroit Pistons and makes his off-season home in Richmond, stopped in for lunch.
Turns out he’d accompanied a friend to the K&B Tattoo Parlor next door, and the owner had suggested that Wallace and his entourage, which arrived in a custom-built stretch Ford truck, try out the new place.
“He had a lot of chicken wings and, of course, egg rolls,” said Posey.
“Hopefully, he’ll be back.”
Mae Khan’s Kitchen has been open for walk-in customers and catering for three-plus months, and Posey is encouraged by business so far.
Word of mouth and a catchy sign on Brook Road have brought in diners curious to try the distinctive fare, the credit card reader is in place, there’s a telephone and fax machine, and you can even buy a souvenir t-shirt if you’re so inclined.
“Some days you just sit around,” he said, “but some days are gangbusters, unlike teaching where you know exactly what you’ll do each day and deal with little problems as they come.
“Every day has been an adventure. I’ve enjoyed the ride so far.”
-- Weldon Bradshaw
(Check out Mae Khan’s Kitchen, directions, and menu on www.myeggrolls.com.)
Back
His mother, a native of Thailand, operates Mae Khan’s Eggrolls, a successful take-out place in Gadsden, AL, so Posey reasoned that if the concept worked in a town of roughly 40,000, it could work in Central Virginia as well.
After his grades went in the book, he took a long weekend and headed home to nearby Birmingham for a crash course on the restaurant business and Thai cooking.
“My inspiration was to bring her product here,” he said. “I put on my teacher glasses, opened my journal, and documented everything.
“I wrote down everything from the proper way to roll an eggroll to how to cut cabbage to the holding time for food. I wanted to find out what works best in a fast food operation.”
As he grew more excited, Posey convinced his younger brother Jon-Paul and Jon-Paul’s girlfriend Heidi Vickers to move to Richmond to do the cooking and work the counter while he handled the business end of the venture.
The afternoon of graduation (June 11), he signed a six-month lease, and a week later, with all his permits in order though the sign, telephone, and credit-card reader were yet to arrive, Mae Khan’s Kitchen sprang to life.
Posey describes the menu as “a southern fried take on Thai food.”
He offers a variety of menu items.
There’re appetizers such as mozzarella sticks, a Bama roll, and chicken wings.
There’re combination platters, sandwiches (including the Posey burger), and desserts, all with a Thai twist.
There’re a variety of egg rolls, not your puny take-out-of-the-freezer-and-heat-in-the-microwave egg rolls but large, filling, tasty ones prepared while you wait.
The 3-for-$5.99 special is a meal in itself and can be quite addictive. Trust me on that.
“It’s huge, almost like a walking hamburger in an egg roll wrapper,” Posey said.
“We’ve gotten comments like, ‘It’s not your typical egg roll’ and ‘I’ve never had an egg roll like that.’”
An early highlight of Posey’s career as a restaurant owner occurred in mid-June when Ben Wallace, the former Virginia Union University basketball star who now plays for the Detroit Pistons and makes his off-season home in Richmond, stopped in for lunch.
Turns out he’d accompanied a friend to the K&B Tattoo Parlor next door, and the owner had suggested that Wallace and his entourage, which arrived in a custom-built stretch Ford truck, try out the new place.
“He had a lot of chicken wings and, of course, egg rolls,” said Posey.
“Hopefully, he’ll be back.”
Mae Khan’s Kitchen has been open for walk-in customers and catering for three-plus months, and Posey is encouraged by business so far.
Word of mouth and a catchy sign on Brook Road have brought in diners curious to try the distinctive fare, the credit card reader is in place, there’s a telephone and fax machine, and you can even buy a souvenir t-shirt if you’re so inclined.
“Some days you just sit around,” he said, “but some days are gangbusters, unlike teaching where you know exactly what you’ll do each day and deal with little problems as they come.
“Every day has been an adventure. I’ve enjoyed the ride so far.”
-- Weldon Bradshaw
(Check out Mae Khan’s Kitchen, directions, and menu on www.myeggrolls.com.)
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