Takeout Restaurant Planned for Bay View
Todd I Believe I Can Fry will serve Korean fried chicken, cheese curds and Japanese Takoyaki.
Site of future Todd I Believe I Can Fry. Photo taken Oct. 25, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
A new, casual spot serving Korean fried chicken, cheese curds and Japanese takoyaki is planning a November opening in Bay View.
The restaurant’s playful menu, evoking both state fair and street food favorites, has a name to match: Todd I Believe I Can Fry.
Owner Paphitchaya Liotrakun, who is Thai, said the title comes from the Thai word for fry, which is pronounced “todd.” The rest of the name is a play on the well-known ’90s pop song, “I Believe I Can Fly.”
“It’s kind of long, but I love it,” she said, referring to the restaurant’s name.
Todd I Believe I Can Fry will be Liotrakun’s first venture as a restaurant owner, though she has nearly a decade of prior industry experience — most recently as a restaurant manager for Rice N Roll Bistro, a Japanese and Thai restaurant with locations on the East Side and in Wauwatosa.
In addition to years of hands-on experience, Liotrakun comes equipped with a palpable enthusiasm for her work, which has only intensified as she prepares to open her own space.
“I can’t even fall asleep because I get so excited,” said Liotrakun, who added that the industry is her way of finding community. “I get to meet many different people, I love serving people, I love talking to new people,” she said. “So I was like, ‘let’s make my own business, where I get to see my own people working and having customers eating the food that I made.'”
The restaurant’s takeout and delivery-only model is a product of the pandemic, said Liotrakun, who noticed a huge surge in demand while working at Rice N Roll. It’s also easier and faster, she said, and eliminates the need for a dining room. When the restaurant opens, customers will be able to enjoy their orders at home, or grab a seat on the adjacent outdoor patio.
In addition to its food menu, the restaurant will offer fountain drinks, as well as bottled beer and sake.
Todd I Believe I Can Fry will occupy 891 square feet of space at 2159 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. The building is part of a $2.5 million restaurant complex being developed by Rice N Roll co-owner Pramoth Lertsinsongserm, who began work on the 0.37-acre lot at 2159-2161 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in 2022.
The complex contains two additional buildings. One, which will eventually house a restaurant, is a two-story structure containing a dining room, kitchen and second-level deck on the north side of the lot. The finished structure would include a portion of the one-story garage structure currently in the middle of the lot, with the remainder of that garage stripped to its frame and becoming an outdoor seating area.
Another building is awaiting a tenant, Liotrakun said.
Pramoth (also known as JJ Lert), his sister Thipwimon (also known as Tammy Lert) and cousin Tony Koraneekit (also known as Tony Kora) are also the owners of KIN, a sushi restaurant in Wauwatosa.
Now that construction is complete at Liotrakun’s restaurant, a tentative opening date is set for mid-November, after final inspections and licensing wrap up.
Liotrakun is guaranteed occupancy in the building for 15 years, according to a license application.
Once open, the restaurant’s proposed hours of operation are daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Photos
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