Chef Gai Klaimongkol's new restaurant at the Sanderlin Shopping Centre will seat 50 to 60 people.
Gai Klaimongkol, a popular chef from Bangkok Alley, is opening a Japanese yakitori restaurant in East Memphis called Skewer. The chef, a native of Thailand, hopes to open the restaurant by mid-January.
Located a few doors down from Muddy’s Bake Shop in the Sanderlin Shopping Centre, Skewer will feature bite-size pieces of chicken, beef, pork, and vegetables grilled on skewers and served with tare, or dipping sauce.
Klaimongkol is enthusiastic about bringing the yakitori concept to local diners. “Yakitori restaurants are very popular in cities like New York, Chicago, and L.A.,” he said. “But this will be the first one in Memphis.”
Along with yakitori, Skewer will also serve sushi, ramen, and donburi, which are rice bowls topped with a variety of foods such as chicken, egg, pork, beef, and seafood. Initially, beer, wine, and sake will round out Skewer’s menu.
“We will eventually expand to cocktails,” Klaimongkol said. “But that will take more time.”
