Over the course of its 25 years of service, the Williamson Street location of Lao Laan-Xang has tickled the palates of plenty: out-of-town relatives, New York Times food critics, and most important of all, its loyal Madison diners. The restaurant’s cozy dining room has been the stage for countless love stories—from first dates all the way to marriage proposals—including owner Christine Inthachith’s own engagement. Having become such an integral part of many Madisonians’ lives, both its owners and its patrons are sad to see such a culinary powerhouse go.
Lao Laan-Xang was born of a dream shared by Inthachith and her mother, Bounyoung.
Arriving in Wisconsin in 1980 as part of the second wave of refugees to flee Laos after the Communist Party takeover, the mother-and-daughter duo was passionate about finding a way to share Lao culture with their newfound community. “We came from Laos with nothing but our family,” Inthachith shared. “To start our own business was truly our American dream and our way of sharing a case of love.”
Despite the clarity of their vision, the 1990 opening of the first Lao Laan-Xang on Odana Road did not come easily. At the time, Inthachith was pursuing her undergraduate degree at UW-Madison and her mother worked full-time at a factory. With the help of the rest of their family (Inthachith’s sister Kelly and her brothers, Son and Sone), their aspirations soon took shape. “That dream took a lot of courage, assistance, and a crazy amount of work,” Inthachith recalled. “We make sure that the food that we offer is the best it can be because it’s personal to us.”
Since its opening in 1997, Lao Laan-Xang’s Willy St. location has created an unmatched sense of community amongst its patrons. “We have seen children in booster seats that grew up to join our staff and even put some of them through college,” Inthachith explained. “Families come to our restaurants to celebrate birthdays, graduations, and other family milestones and holidays, including the Lao New Year celebration. It’s truly been a privilege for us to participate,” she continued.
For Madisonians of different marginalized identities, Lao Laan-Xang has additionally been a source of comfort and safety. “Lao Laan-Xang has been a staple and a comfort since I first arrived in Madison in the fall of 2017,” a Southeast Asian UW graduate student shared. “Despite having excellent Laotian food, the prices were always kept reasonable, especially in comparison to peer restaurants. I was specifically drawn in by the sticky rice and laap, but I stayed for the large helpings of kang gai to which I quickly became addicted.”
Since Lao Laan-Xang’s humble beginnings, Inthachith has witnessed this feeling of comfort permeate on a community level as well. “Food can transcend differences. It requires no translations. So I think that when we sit down and eat with family and friends, we can enjoy the food we are eating as well as the people [we are with], so that strengthens our connection and our sense of community,” she explained. “Through the years, many of the customers have told me that our food has become their comfort foods. So this makes me very happy.”
Even amidst all of the love that Madison has poured into Lao Laan-Xang’s Willy Street location, the restaurant was not immune to the many hurdles and struggles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While shutdowns, festival cancellations, and reliance on curb-side pick-up all made it difficult to keep business open, staff shortages were ultimately what led to Inthachith’s decision to close the restaurant’s doors.
In addition to the lack of front-house employees, Inthachith and her family have found it quite difficult to find people who can replicate and master Buonyoung’s cooking, a problem which has been exacerbated by her plans to retire soon. “It’s great that my mother is an excellent cook, and that we were able to learn from her cooking,” Inthachith shared. “[But] it has always been hard to find cooks that are familiar with cooking Lao [food].”
Now that her family can now devote their undivided attention to Lao Laan-Xang’s remaining Atwood location, Inthachith and her siblings have begun to think of how to keep the restaurant open for more generations to come. “For my brother and myself, you know, getting a setup for the second, third generation of Lao Laan Xang [is a priority],” she said. “Passing down our tradition and food is a way to do that [so] our kids can identify who they are and where their parents came from.”
While Lao Laan-Xang has been a pioneer in diversifying Madison cuisine, Inthachith believes that much more can be done to increase senses of belonging for racial minorities. “Because we’ve been here a long time, there’s some improvement,” she said. “But Madison still has a long way to go [for communities of color].”
“Consumption of our food is one way to begin approaching this problem, but I would also encourage white Madisonians to work to understand the patterns of their consumption as well as the assumptions they make when approaching different kinds of food,” the UW graduate student added. “In other words, challenge yourself and your palate, then reflect on why it was challenging in the first place.”
Keeping the spirit of family at the center of all that she does, Buonyoung plans to spend her retirement teaching her grandchildren how to cook different recipes, meditating at the temple, and visiting family and friends in Laos when it is safe to do so. Even without her support in the kitchen, the Inthachith siblings are devoted to keeping their food standards high and the Lao Laan-Xang legacy long.
