This is part of a new food series on DCist called Never Gets Old, where we tell the stories of longtime restaurants and other establishments around the D.C. region that have left an indelible mark by being a beloved neighborhood spot, serving up comforting meals and hospitality, or providing a much-needed community hub. Have a favorite in your neighborhood you want to nominate? Email us and tell us what it is and why you love it. 

When Thai Orchid’s Kitchen first opened over a decade ago on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, co-owner Valla Kertgate says many of the Dupont Park community’s predominantly Black residents had a learning curve when it came to Thai food. While some folks in the neighborhood were curious, more had questions.

“For the first three to four years, it was very tough,” co-owner Valla Kertgate says, “They thought it was Chinese food.”

“We would give away food at the bus stop,” adds her sister-in-law and co-owner Souvanee Kertgate as she points towards the Metrobus routes 32 and 36 bus shelters directly outside their building.

“When customers came in and bought stuff, we gave them additional free food to try, like appetizers and Thai iced tea,” Valla adds. “From that, we built customer loyalty and now we’ve maintained business through the pandemic because our customers in the area supported us.”

The purple and white brick building has housed the Kertgate’s family business for 13 years, since spring 2010. When it opened, it was a rare sit-down restaurant in Ward 7.

Upon entering Thai Orchid’s, patrons will notice a sprawling menu against the yellow, floral wallpaper. In some ways, the menu speaks to the work the Kertgate’s had to do. Stapled to a bulletin board are more than two dozen photographs of dishes such as spicy chicken larb, a salad topped with spiced ground chicken; krapow, a meat dish with basil; and pad-see-ew, a stir-fry noodle dish — all with captions describing the name of each dish and what is in it.

Right next to it, more menu items scrawled on a whiteboard might produce a double take — things like fried whiting and shrimp platters served with french fries.

“We were trying to survive,” Valla says with a laugh about the non-Thai menu items.

“The food is really tasty, customer service is great and it’s clean. It’s really nice to have a restaurant of this caliber on this side of the city,” said Nicole, who has been patronizing Thai Orchid’s for five years, as she picked up her order of salmon fried rice.

When Valla’s mother and siblings immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand in the 80’s, for better career opportunities, Valla, a high school geography teacher at the time, chose to stay behind. As time went on, she began to feel lonely and decided to follow them over in 1993.

She didn’t have a plan when she arrived, and she knew from her mother and brother that she might have to work odd jobs to make ends meet. English was also a barrier into certain fields of work. She could read and write the language, but she wasn’t a fluent speaker.

“When I tried to speak to people, they would be out the door before I could think of the words I wanted to say,” she said. And so she became a bartender. Over time, she took classes and picked up the language through her work in the hospitality industry.

The Kertgates weren’t new restaurant owners when they opened in Dupont Park. They had a Fairfax Thai restaurant that they sold in 2010 before they started looking for a place to open another restaurant.

Valla was interested in the east of the river community because her sister-in-law’s sister, a chef, lived there and they realized there was no Thai food. It seemed like a perfect opportunity. Still, Valla says her business real estate broker was apprehensive about them choosing Dupont Park — he worried that it was unsafe.

“Everyone knows there’s a lot of crime in this area, but we’ve never had any problems. We see things around here all the time, but we have a lot of support from the people and the police,” Valla says.

“It’s very nice,” she adds.

The Kertgates stopped dine-in service for the past few years due to the pandemic. But their carryout service hasn’t skipped a beat. Although the restaurant is quiet and mostly empty during the day, the phone rings off the hook. A few people saunter in and take a seat at one of the empty wooden tables set amid their hardwood floor and yellow floral wallpaper.

Valla says they have considered restarting full service, but they’ve had trouble with staffing to do so. But they welcome customers to sit at their tables and eat after picking up their food.

“I remember when they first opened,” one of those pickup customers recalls as he waits for an order of drunken noodles for himself and his fiance, “The food tastes exactly the same as when they first opened.” He also appreciates the portion sizes.

“It’s more than enough food,” he says about the food he ordered,“It’s only supposed to be for one person, but we’ll split it and there will be some left over!”

At that moment Souvanee came up to the interior window to hand him some food and a cup — which contains something that’s not in his usual order

“Today is my first time trying the mango lemonade because someone told me it’s really good,” he said with a smile before thanking Souvanee and walking out the door.

Thai Orchid’s Kitchen is located at 2314 Pennsylvania Ave. SE #6706 and is open Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Saturday from 12 p.m.-9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 4 p.m.-9:30 p.m.