Help Siamese Basil Recover From Fire
Siamese Basil Thai restaurant in Norcross has been opened since the 90’s. My parents immigrated from Thailand and bounced around between Florida and Georgia before settling down in Norcross. My brother, Matthew and I grew up in this restaurant. You can still find our crayon drawings all over the wall in the office where we used to play. The restaurant has survived recessions, robberies, and more recently a world pandemic. Anyone who has dined in before knows that this is a true depiction of what a mom and pop shop looks like.
In the early hours of May 6, 2021, a fire ravaged through the Colony Village plaza where our restaurant is located. When I first got word of the fire, I immediately called my parents and they did not answer. My parents and brother usually stay at the restaurant until the wee hours of the morning preparing for the next day’s food. At that moment, I thought that the fire consumed my family and I made way to their house to find them safe and bewildered.
When I told them what had happened, we went to the restaurant to see what was left. We found that three of the businesses in the plaza were completely destroyed. There was some damage to our exterior front but most of the damage is inside where the smoulder passed through the ceiling into our roof. We are lucky that our family legacy was not completely destroyed but the biggest blessing of all is that no one was hurt in this fire.
After assessing the damage, we have found that we will not be able to reopen for a few weeks to a few months. The fire caused our electricity, water, and gas to go out. There have been issues reconnecting the electricity which has been detrimental to maintaining all the produce and meats that we have. When we reopen, we will literally have to start from 0. This is a big blow to us because currently due to the pandemic, we are only doing take out and delivery services. Dining in is a big chunk of our business and we decided it would be best to limit the customers coming in because of my parents’ susceptibility to not making it if they were to catch COVID-19.
On behalf of my family, I am asking that you (our loyal customers, family, friends) to help us keep our doors open. This fire was unexpected and these days during this pandemic, it has been harder to stay open. We thank you for all your well wishes and consideration. We hope to see you all soon!
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/devloping-fire-destroys-several-businesses-norcross-strip-mall/F2AQ647RDVFCTDI4VEPPRHPU2E/
https://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2021/05/06/norcross-strip-mall-fire-1/
Some photos are from Gwinnett County Firefighters website. 
