SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Five years of catering to curlers came to an abrupt end last month, when the city's only Thai food venue was ousted from its primary outlet at the Yellowknife Curling Club.

One of a Thai owner Sousanh Chanthalangsy stands by her food truck which will be parked outside her home until spring. The business previously operated out of the Yellowknife Curling Club during the winter months but recently lost its contract after refusing to include western menu items. - Meagan Leonard/NNSL photo

During the curling season, late October to March, One of a Thai operated out of the club and supplemented business during the summer months with a food truck.

Sousanh Chanthalangsy, owner of the award-winning eatery, said when she sat down to discuss a contract renewal with the club, she was expecting a rent negotiation but there were some additional requests.

"I knew for a fact they wanted to increase the rent ... but when we had the meeting, the new president was like, 'We want to talk about the menu and hours as well,'" she said. "It caught me off guard."

The original contract signed between Chanthalangsy and the club in 2011 was relatively straightforward, allowing the food outlet to utilize the kitchen facilities year-round at a rate of $450 per month.

She told Yellowknifer provisions in the new contract include a rent increase, extended hours and an expanded menu which would incorporate items such as hamburgers, fries, chicken fingers, wings, ribs, soups and sandwiches alongside their traditional fare.

Chanthalangsy said, for her, the menu request was a deal-breaker.

"They still wanted us to continue with the Thai food but then they wanted us to add a Western menu - burgers, fries, finger foods - and I was like, 'Well that's not going to happen. I'm Thai food and that's what I'm going to stick to,'" she said, adding cramped facilities at the club would have made it difficult to accommodate the additional offerings.

"We only have one cooler in that little kitchen and a little freezer that I brought from home," she said. "I don't know how you expect me to add more items to the menu."

The venue's standard menu included pad thai, meat skewers, spring rolls, samosas, curries, stir frys, sausages and homemade meat balls.

Club seeks lighter fare

Curling club president Brad Whitehead said often curlers found the food too heavy for early morning or late evening sessions and were looking for lighter items to snack on.

"When you're off the ice at 11 (a.m.) and got to go back on at 1 (p.m.), you don't really want to sit down and have a Thai meal, you just want . something light," he said. "Most of the time when you come to a curling rink, you come to nibble when you're having your beer after the game, you're not going to be sitting down and having a full-course meal."

Whitehead said the club would have had no issue renewing the contract, if One of a Thai had been more flexible.

"I can't understand why they wouldn't make soup and sandwiches," he said. "They still could have been doing their Thai thing if they could have come up with something on their menu other than noodles and rice."

Whitehead confirmed the owners of the canteen at the neighbouring community arena will now operate out of the curling club as well with service expected to begin this week.

"It will be very similar to what is in the hockey rink," he said.

Alhough Chanthalangsy attains the decision was made for the best, she says she will miss being at the club and seeing familiar faces.

"It's a great place. We've grown to love being in the curling club and knowing all the people and bringing in people who had never seen the club," she said. "There was a lot of people who were upset and sad - us too because we started in the curling club."

Going forward, Chanthalangsy said she has started looking for an alternate winter location but currently options are slim.

"It's actually really hard, there's not a lot of kitchen spaces available unless I partner up with somebody," she said. "But we're still looking because in the winter I really want to continue serving Thai food."