RIDGEFIELD — Things had been so slow at Teriyaki Thai, co-owner Sombat Wongthawinkul and his staff didn’t prepare anything when they got in on Feb. 23.
An error in an article in this newspaper, as well as other local publications, tanked business. Each day saw fewer guests than the last.
“I thought (the restaurant was) going to die,” Wongthawinkul, 44, of Portland said.
Then came a rush.
“People came all day long,” he said. “We sold out of everything. They were lined up around the restaurant. It was our best day in two years.”
People hugged him and told him it would be okay. In the days since, business has kept up ahead of what the restaurant was typically doing before a Feb. 15 article in The Columbian.
The previous day, the U.S. Department of Justice sent out a press release announcing that Paul Jumroon, 54, of Depoe Bay, Ore., pleaded guilty in federal court in Portland to forced labor, visa fraud conspiracy and filing a false federal income tax return. Jumroon was listed as the owner of Teriyaki Thai, 109 S. 65th Ave., St. 103, Ridgefield, as well as Thai Curry in a Hurry located in Lake Oswego, Ore.
The Columbian, along with other local publications, ran a story about Jumroon’s case with him listed as the current owner of the restaurant. Comments on the article and emails to the paper noted that Jumroon wasn’t the current owner. The restaurant’s official Facebook page commented on the article, as well.
The story was updated to note that Jumroon was the former owner of the restaurant. Kevin Sonoff, spokesman for the United States Attorney’s Office, sent an email to The Columbian on Feb. 27, clarifying that “Jumroon no longer owns either of the two restaurants mentioned.”
By that point, the damage was done.
“We saw it right away,” Wongthawinkul said. “It was two years of growing and then one day it just goes down.”
Wongthawinkul tried to remain optimistic despite declining sales and negative online reviews. His co-owner Rujira Woraphan, 36, of Portland was more nervous.
The married couple bought the restaurant in 2016, and Woraphan gave birth to their first child on Jan. 22. She was staying home to take care of their daughter most days.
“She was so worried,” Wongthawinkul said. “She’s at home taking care of the kid and texting me, asking how business was.”
Wongthawinkul said the family plans on moving to Ridgefield in the future. They were waiting to see how things went with the restaurant. If anything, his neighbors’ responses to the incorrect article has made them feel more at home in the city.
“It’s a really nice community,” he said. “People know each other and they’re very supportive.”
Wongthawinkul moved to America from Thailand about 20 years ago, and Woraphan moved to the country about 15 years ago. They met while working in a restaurant in Portland. They married back in Thailand in front of their families, and then opened a Thai restaurant in Beaverton, Ore., and two food carts in Portland. They ended up moving back to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to be with an ailing relative.
They returned to Portland a few years ago and were looking to buy a restaurant when they found Jumroon’s. Wongthawinkul said he knew him a little bit through the Thai community in the Portland metro area, but the two weren’t close. He said he hasn’t had any contact with Jumroon since buying Teriyaki Thai.
The first three months they owned the restaurant, Wongthawinkul and Woraphan worked there alone. They’ve since brought on a few employees. They have three on busier days and two on slower days.
It was that growth and hard work that led Wongthawinkul to think they’d survive the immediate aftermath of the incorrect article.
“I work with my heart,” he said. “I still had confidence.”
