Sala Thai: Bringing A Taste of Thailand to Duluth

A Woman Passionate About Sharing Her Authentic Recipes With the Northland

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Stepping into a world more than 8,000 miles away.

“I like to have my customers leave here like they just had visited Thailand,” smiled Sum Lee Beede, Owner of Sala Thai.

Sala Thai brings the essence of Thailand to downtown Duluth.

“I lived there until I was 20 years old,” Sum Lee said.

She’s been sharing her authentic recipes with the Northland for nearly 40 years.

“Some has a little sour to it and spicy, some a little bit of coconut cream and sweetness to it,” Sum Lee explained. “It’s for everyone’s palettes, if you will.”

She says herbs and spices aren’t the only ingredients that define the Asian cuisine.

“I’ve learned that folks really like a lot vegetables in their fried rice,” she laughed.

And every entrée has to pass the test of her own taste buds.

“If I don’t like it, I don’t put it out,” Sum Lee said. “Whether it’s sour, whether it’s spicy, whether it’s sweet, it’s got to have harmony.”

But she says taste is just one part of the five-sense experience.

“Smell the Thai food when they walk in, and see the artifacts, and hear the sound of the Thai music, and ultimately taste the Thai food.”

While it’s not always easy, she wouldn’t change what she does for the world.

“I love food, I love to eat, and I love to share,” Sum Lee smiled.

Sum Lee says one of her favorite things to do when she returns to Thailand to visit her family is share her recipes with those back home.

The new location is at 114 W 1st Street.