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Minority & Small Business Week
October 3, 2018
From Food Cart to Restaurant
Airport
welcomes
new small
business start
Advertise with diversity
in
The Portland Observer
Call 503-288-0033
or email
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Bangkok Xpress Thai Food at
Portland International Airport is a
story of firsts.
The new restaurant is the first
Thai food restaurant at PDX. It’s
also the first brick and mortar lo-
cation for Bangkok Xpress.
And Bangkok Xpress is the
first to graduate from the PDX
food cart program into a tradi-
tional restaurant location in the
airport. The food cart program is
designed to give locally owned
small businesses a chance to op-
erate at the airport with low over-
head to see if it’s the right fit for
them.
Development in the airport
environment can be intimidating
and expensive for small business-
es, and Port of Portland strives to
maintain an inclusive atmosphere
by lowering the barriers to entry
with efforts like the food cart pro-
gram.
Located in the PDX Clock-
tower Plaza, the minority-owned,
woman-owned, and certified Air-
port Concessions Disadvantaged
Cheryl Nhun is the owner of the new Bangkok Xpress restaurant located in Portland International
Airport.
Business Enterprise restaurant
reflects owner Cheryl Nhun’s
passion for cooking.
“In a lot of Asian families, we
learn our cooking methods with
mom and dad and the family,”
Cheryl said. “I was also able to
meet a lot of people in the com-
munity and share recipes and
broadened our cooking expe-
rience. Eventually, I thought I
would share that with the rest of
the world.”
Cheryl founded Bangkok
Xpress in 2012 with a food cart
at Rose City Food Park on North-
east Sandy Boulevard. “When I
had the opportunity to start my
own business, I thought what
would be better than jumping into
the food cart scene,” Cheryl said.
“Portland is just such a foodie
town, it seems like a great oppor-
tunity, so we gave it a try and we
were very well received.”
“When I first heard about PDX
having a food cart program, we
expressed interest, and one day
we were presented the opportu-
nity,” Cheryl continued. “It was
such a wonderful experience for
us. We learned so much about the
airport culture and met wonderful
people. I feel like there was a lot
of support from staff. We said if
there was ever an opportunity to
stay longer, we would. And when
that option came up, we jumped
at it, and here we are.”
Bangkok Xpress offers very
traditional Thai cuisine, Cheryl
explained. That includes an array
of noodle dishes like the Drunk-
en Noodle, Phad Thai and Phad
Sa Ew. There’s also a variety of
rice dishes, combination plates,
and the new Lemongrass Chicken
and Beef Basil dish offered with
white or brown rice, all made to
order and fresh every day.
The restaurant is open 7 a.m.-
9 p.m. daily and offers gluten
free and vegan options. Bangkok
Xpress echoes PDX’s commit-
ment to representing local busi-
ness, offering street pricing and
serving travelers 365 days a year.
“My advice for anyone consid-
ering starting a business at PDX is
to shadow an existing business,”
Cheryl said. “You should be open
to peaks and valleys with custom-
ers as they travel though the air-
port. The airport is very different
from anything out on the streets.
We are very happy to be here and
to share our food with everyone,
and I hope everyone enjoys it.”