Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine, Hanover’s underground Thai restaurant, will relocate from 5 South Main Street to 44 South Main Street after Commencement.
Tuk Tuk will remain open at its current location until June but expects to close for “a few days” to move final pieces to the location. The restaurant will open at its new location after Commencement.
Tuk Tuk’s current location will be demolished and replaced by 31 apartments, according to the Valley News. The demolition is part of a development project by Jonathan Livadas ’09, who bought the building in 2020 with local investor group Davison Hanover LLC.
Tuk Tuk opened in Hanover in 2015. A second location opened in West Lebanon in 2022. The restaurant serves traditional Thai cuisine under head chef Pranom Nisang, Pannipa Pace’s mother, according to the restaurant’s website. Ken Pace, Pannipa Pace’s husband, described the restaurant as Pannipa Pace’s “life’s breath.”
“It’s what she’s all about,” he explained.
Tuk Tuk owner Pannipa Pace said that she was “a little bit sad” to leave the restaurant’s founding location, which has allowed the restaurant to serve “nice students.”
“Everybody from every walk of life has just been very happy with the restaurant and the food that we put out,” Pace said. “We welcome everyone, and it’s a great relationship with the town.”
Chloe Kim ’29 said the food at Tuk Tuk is “amazing,” with her favorite dish being the Pad See Ew.
“It’s also just very good vibes and it’s cozy,” Kim said. “I enjoy going there with my friends.”
Without Tuk Tuk, Pannipa Pace said, “there would be no Thai food in Hanover.”
Nigel Leeming, the owner of Murphy’s Tavern — which is located at 11 South Main Street — sold Tuk Tuk’s new location at 44 South Main Street to Pannipa Pace after Ken Pace said he and Pannipa were “desperate” to find a new storefront. In an interview, Leeming said selling 44 South Main Street to Tuk Tuk was “the right deal” for both sides.
“It’s a good thing for them; a good thing for us,” he explained.
Ken Pace recalled the Tuk Tuk team’s enthusiasm about the opportunity.
“The first thing we did was jump all over [the offer] because we needed someplace to go,” Ken Pace said.
Ken Pace noted that Tuk Tuk is currently moving its equipment from the underground space to the new location. They are also “waiting on equipment that was custom made for the [new] location” to arrive, he added.
