The first two letters of the restaurant name S.S. Gai stand for “same-same,” a common Thai expression. But for S.S. Gai owners Emma and Chris Biard, things are about to change. The Biards tell the Scene that they’ve signed a lease for an expanded stand-alone location for their beloved Thai chicken place.
The new S.S. Gai will be located at 1106 Chester Ave. in East Nashville (formerly the home of The Golden Door), just a quarter-mile north of the current location in The Wash on Gallatin Avenue. The new S.S. Gai is a 1,300-square-foot house (already painted green, one of the restaurant’s signature colors), with a large backyard. That means the Biards can provide both indoor dining and a small bar program, amenities not available to them at The Wash. The new location, which they expect to open in eight to 12 months, will have seating for about 50 people.
The concept of S.S. Gai will not change with the move, Emma promises, assuring fans that the restaurant will continue to cook its Thai-street-food-inspired menu while introducing new offerings. The restaurant will remain open at The Wash until the Chester Avenue location opens.
Emma and Chris Biard
“It is really just an expansion of space for indoor dining, a pretty, small, fun bar program, and just a more sustainable and comfortable space for our guests and the staff,” Emma says, noting that the current micro space at The Wash is just 300 square feet. “I’ve made the joke before — if Chris and I want to stay married, we need more space. We’ve had two years in 300 square feet, and we’re testing the limits of our togetherness and our closeness.”
S.S. Gai is best known for its grilled and fried chicken, mango sticky rice and morning glory vegetable dish. Most of the menu is gluten-free (yes, even the fried chicken). The team works with The Nashville Food Project's Growing Together Farm for some of its produce, including some vegetables grown just for them (such as the water spinach for the morning glory dish).
Many customers have requested other dishes, like rice bowls, but the Biards do not have the space for a rice cooker for jasmine rice. The new space will have room for such luxuries, and they'll also be able to serve a kids’ menu called Little Gais. The focus will remain on Thai street food, and Chris promises the restaurant will never carry pad Thai or fried rice.
“It’s about fried chicken and grilled chicken,” he says. “We never want to change why we did this concept. It is based on street food — one person doing one thing really, really well. We never want to lose that.”
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The new location will likely remain a counter-service restaurant, but those details are still being ironed out.
The Biards were aided in opening the current location at The Wash by Chad Newton and Gracie Nguyen of You Are Here Hospitality. YAHH owns several restaurants in The Wash, including Sweeza Super Quesadilla, Fly Pelican Fly and East Side Pho, plus nearby East Side Banh Mi and the soon-to-open Golden Prawn #3. YAHH provided both financial and mentoring help, for which the Biards are grateful. Emma and Chris had decades of experience working in restaurants before opening S.S. Gai, and Newton and Nguyen helped show them the ownership ropes. They now plan to expand on their own, looking at bank loans, possible investors and other ways to expand independently.
“It’s a little tough right now, just given the climate and interest rates," Emma says. "It’s just a scary economic climate right now. We just kind of had to take a leap of faith and just hope that everything works out. We will work our butts off, day in and day out, to do whatever it takes to find the money to get this going. We have that drive, and we will figure it out. It’s scary, and some might call it stupid, but it has worked for us thus far.”
