Thai restaurant in Westport closes. Owner blames shortage of employees and parking

Sweet Siam, a Thai and sushi restaurant, has closed after six years in Westport.

Brett Allred of Allred Management purchased the Sweet Siam building, at 4130 Pennsylvania Ave., about three months ago. Allred said the restaurant closed nearly a month ago but he hoped the owner and chef, Michael Brillhart, would reopen it.

Now he has the 7,000-square-foot freestanding brick building for lease.

In a phone call Monday, Brillhart said he was having a hard time finding employees, and sales had not returned to pre-COVID levels.

“I know some other restaurant and bars there are having a hard time,” he said. “Parking was against me. In hindsight I probably should not have left Lenexa. But I want to thank my customers.”

He opened the restaurant in Lenexa in early 2012 before relocating to Westport’s former Thai Place building in late 2016.

Menu items included pad thai, spicy spaghetti, ginger and mushroom stir-fry, curry dishes, fried rice, spicy garlic scallops, pan-fried snapper, catfish, sushi, salads, soups and coconut cake.