Starting a restaurant is often a bumpy road, with lots of twists and turns. That's certainly true for the owner of KaPow Thai on Wheel Suwat Piyathanawiwat. 

Originally from Bangkok Thailand he attended high school in New Zealand, St. Gabriel's College, Bethlehem College in Tauranga, studied Management at Auckland Institute of study and the Crown Institutes of Studies, then moved back to Thailand in 1998.  

Armed with all his knowledge he had big dreams, and came to America, settling in Boston, Massachusetts in 2000.

"I started my first job as dishwasher at a Thai restaurant in Foxboro MA," he explains, "Then I moved to Wakefield, MA to work as a line cook. The owner taught me everything from the beginning"

Suwat got married in 2006.

That decade of cooking experience brought him to open his own restaurant in Allston MA In 2011.

But things did not go as planned. An online company took a lot of the money from the restaurant forcing him to sell and leaving him with a lot of debt. But he's not the kind of person who gives up easily.

Seeking a fresh start he decided to move his family to Seattle in 2017. Like many people who arrive here, fresh from another city it was hard at first. For three years he worked as Uber driver, and given his business studies background also opened travel service page on Facebook called Time To Travel By Thanakritt (airport service and car rental with driver).

Then by 2020 he decided the time was right to be back in the food business.

He started Ka pow Thai on Wheel on February 2. It operates out the commissary kitchen at 5600 Delridge Way SW.

Then Covid-19 hit.

His original concept was to provide catering but that was not going to happen since parties and gatherings were banned. He swiftly changed his concept to pure take out.

He likes to describe what he offers as a "Thai Street food  journey as if you are wandering on the streets of Bangkok," and that's pretty accurate.

His menu includes many of the usual Thai cuisine items like Coconut Shrimp, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Phad Thai, Thai Fried Rice but also some more unusual and authentic Thai dishes. Items like Crispy Pork Belly Kapow, or Thai Curry Duck are standouts.

You can see (and order) from the menu online here. They are open from 4pm to 8pm Mon. through Saturday, closed on Sunday. They can fill larger orders for events if you have a small one in mind but you need to give them 48 hours advance notice. 

"As of today everything is getting better. People know us more and love our food. I still believe in the "Cheap Eat" concept. Big portion Big quality," he said, "Let your customer become a friend. I believe in that."