This past August, ThiNi Thai, an Oberlin restaurant specializing in Northern Thai cuisine, temporarily closed its doors in order to move to a new location. Oberlin residents from both the community and College have been eagerly awaiting news regarding the reopening of the restaurant. Matt Adelman, who owns both The Feve and ThiNi Thai together with his brother, said they had acquired the space at 19 S. Main St. for ThiNi Thai’s new location. The space is the former location of the Ginko Gallery & Studio, which closed in 2024 when the owner retired. The space is still under renovation, but Adelman is hopeful that they will be able to reopen ThiNi Thai by January or February of 2026.
“We want to open as soon as possible,” Adelman told the Review. “It’s unfortunate that us opening would be happening at a time when everybody’s out for Winter Term, but there [are] enough people in town that it’s going to be difficult to get in anyway.”
Adelman said that they decided to move locations because of the benefits of owning the restaurant space instead of renting it, as they had been doing previously.
Adelman and his brother first opened The Feve in 1992 and never expected to open a second restaurant. The process of opening ThiNi Thai began in 2015, when Adelman and his brother met Aon Krittathiranon, who would become their head chef, while traveling in Thailand. However, ThiNi Thai did not open until January 2020, mostly due to the years-long process of obtaining a green card and other documentation necessary for Krittathiranon to be able to work in the U.S. Krittathiranon finally came to the U.S. in September 2019, and ThiNi Thai opened its doors that January, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“[COVID-19] was terrible,” Adelman said. “It was absolutely awful. I can’t even begin to describe how incredibly difficult it was. Finally, five years later, between both restaurants, we’re just getting back [to normal].”
Plans for the reopening include enhancements to the menu, some of which were inspired by Krittathiranon’s recent trip to Thailand. Adelman also noted the role that the decor of the new space will play in the aesthetic and experience of eating at ThiNi Thai.
“We feel like [with] experiencing ThiNi and Aon’s food, we try to put it all together as a complete experience,” Adelman said.
The owners plan to recreate much of the decor unique to ThiNi Thai’s original location, including the murals, lanterns, and photographs from Thailand which are specific to the aesthetic of Chiang Mai. ThiNi Thai has posted on their Facebook page that they hope to work closely with the family of Martha Ferrazza, the artist who painted the murals on the exterior walls of ThiNi Thai’s original location, in order to complete the best possible recreation of the now-deceased artist’s original work.
Adelman advised those interested in staying updated on ThiNi Thai’s reopening plans to check their Facebook and Instagram pages. He also noted that they hope to start putting up informational posters on the windows of the Main Street property.
Oberlin students have been eagerly awaiting ThiNi Thai’s reopening.
“ThiNi Thai is hands down the best restaurant in Oberlin — I’ve missed it so much since it closed, and I’m really anticipating its return,” College third-year Jay Beal said. “I think it’s a really important cuisine to have in Oberlin and I look forward to it coming back.”
