The founders of Bangkok Happy Bowl have amassed something of a restaurant empire since they opened the Aspen location in 2012.
Restauranteurs Kirk Coult and Paula Rungsawang Coult now operate another Happy Bowl in Breckenridge, plus one in Hawaii. They just opened a brand-new outpost of the Thai restaurant in Florida. And they recently launched another venture, Phatt Pho n Sushi, right next to the Aspen location Happy Bowl. (It fills the space previously occupied by Tiki Mana, where the Coults served up island-inspired noodle bowls for about five years.)
But the flagship location of Happy Bowl remains a special place for the Coults. In a fluctuating restaurant scene like Aspen's — where some eateries last only a few seasons or years — Paula is proud that Happy Bowl has become a fixture.
“This is my dream come true, to be part of (this community)," she said in an interview with Kirk at the restaurant last month. "I really mean it, because I do a lot of restaurants in a lot of communities, but this is always in our heart."
Now, as the restaurant enters its 13th year of business in Aspen, the Coults are bringing a new look to the space.
The original design evoked the mountains of northern Thailand, surrounding customers in shades of dark brown, green and purple as they dined on pad thai and green curry.
This winter, the restaurant is lighter, and brighter — a nod to the coastal communities of southern Thailand instead. The space is painted in shades of white and cornflower blue, with a corner-to-corner mural of fishermen on one wall and a painting of merchants floating through a canal on another.
It was time for something “fresh,” the Coults said, but little else has changed. The menu still features the classics — there have been some additions since the restaurant's inception, but few removals — and the prices are less than $20 for most dishes.
Kirk said that’s the whole point of the enterprise, both at Happy Bowl and the neighboring Phatt Pho: “Fine cuisine, reasonably priced, affordable and accessible. That’s what we love to bring to Aspen.”
This post has been updated to reflect a reformatted story and note the opening of a new Happy Bowl location in Florida.
