Rock 'N' Thai announces plans to open a site in Zeeland

ZEELAND — Rock ‘N’ Thai is planning a third location, this time in Zeeland.

The announcement was made Monday, July 1, on social media, about a month after the opening of a second location in Grand Haven.

The restaurant at 9479 Riley St. will occupy the former Pearl House, a bubble tea shop that opened in 2023. The menu will be a faster, more express version of Rock ‘N’ Thai’s usual offerings.

“I’ve always dreamed of living in this neighbourhood,” said Kong Khammanivong, a West Ottawa High School graduate who runs the restaurants with his mother, Sandy. “It’s right next door to my house, it’s a great, growing community. We just want to meet the needs of the people of Zeeland.”

Although a social media page for The Pearl House is still active, a post indicates that the store is temporarily closed and the phone number has been disconnected.

Kong confirmed that he would continue to sell bubble tea on site.

Khammanivong said the company hopes to open the site as soon as possible, but is hesitant to give an opening date after struggling to launch the Grand Haven site. He said the yearlong delay was largely due to permits and inspections, but Zeeland is expected to take closer to four to six months.

“We are moving very slowly,” Mr. Khammanivong said. “We have to start from scratch on the ground.”

Subscribe: Get all the latest news and unlimited access to our local coverage

He is, however, delighted to bring flavours that he says are not currently offered in Zeeland.

“Zeeland needs more diverse flavours,” Mr Khammanivong said. “We want to give it a bit of spice and hopefully entice people to come to Zeeland and do business here.”

— Contact reporter Austin Metz at [email protected].