Students and Athens residents now have a new option when it comes to selecting food on Union Street.
Nathan and May Rath, owners of Dr. May’s Thai Kitchen, recently expanded their business by joining the list of food trucks in Athens at the beginning of 2018.
“It seemed to be the best fit,” Nathan said.
The couple first started their business through Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, or ACEnet, in October 2017, he said.
ACEnet is a community-based economic development organization that serves the 32 counties of Appalachia, according to its website.
The couple decided to make and sell Thai food to create more diversity within the area, May said.
“We both are alumni. I transferred here in 2008 from my Ph.D. program at Bangkok University in Thailand to Ohio University,” she said. “I came from Thailand, and there’s not really Thai food around here.”
Some popular items on the menu include pad thai, spring rolls and crispy pork wontons, May said. Prices range from about $5 to $12, depending on the menu item.
“The pad thai would be a little more,” she said. “I make my own pad thai sauce from authentic pad thai recipe, and most of the ingredients are not local.”
Nicole Stokes, a sophomore studying communication sciences and disorders, said the menu prices are not that bad.
"It's the same amount you would pay for a burrito at Chipotle," she said.
Local ingredients are also used throughout items on the menu, too.
“We start at the farmers market, and we have some farmers that we know,” May said. “Let’s say, one of our famous Gai Kai Grilled Curry Chicken, we used their ingredients that grow from their farms.”
Pre-order and pick-up is available for free at its 94 Columbus Rd. location, and customers can also choose to have their food delivered for free to Devil’s Kettle Brewing, which is located across the street.
The couple’s main goal is to better communicate with their customers.
“We have more diversity in our customers now,” May said. “We have students, we have university workers, we have professors so now we have to figure out what times would work for them.”
Lacy Burke, a freshman studying MIS in business analytics, said she thinks a lot of people would try the new food truck.
"I personally am scared to try new things," she said. "I know a lot of people that would love it, though."
Ideas of using different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been discussed among owners to tell customers what is on the menu or when and where it will be on a given day, May said.
“Right now student population seems to be the smallest part of our sales, and again, we are learning bit by bit,” Nathan said.
