If one were ever to find oneself in the afternoons in and around the Krua Thai premises in Naxal, one is highly likely to come across the sight of a woman clad in business attire pacing from the kitchen to service staff to the guests in the restaurant; making sure the food and the service are optimum and that the guests are enjoying their meals. “The greatest challenge for any restaurant to succeed and maintain relevance in the Nepali food market in 2022, is consistency. The food can’t be the best today and average the next day, for this all the staff working in the restaurant need to be working at full tilt and me as the manager also must be in my A-game making sure all these individual cogs of the restaurant function well to create a truly well-run restaurant,” says Reeya Shrestha, Restaurant Manager at Krua Thai Nepal.
This very straightforward, efficient, diligent and attention to detail approach to running her business is what defines the modern, young, bold woman entrepreneur that is Reeya Shrestha. Having taken over the management of the restaurant from her father, Shrestha has only ever looked forwards and upwards when it comes to Krua Thai and its progress in establishing itself as one of the staple Thai Cuisine hubs in town. From organizing special events in the restaurant to optimizing menus and making sure the ingredients used are sourced in a proper manner and remain ever fresh, Shrestha runs a tight ship, keeping the satisfaction of the guests at the forefront. Besides being a rising restaurateur, Shrestha has also recently ventured into the world of Real Estate, in the process of building her own house and acquiring lands around town.
“I was sort of compelled into maturing a lot early, compared to say a normal teenager leading a normal life; pretty early into my teenage my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I had to grow up quicker, learn to take care of myself and my mother. Your mom being diagnosed with such a severe disease can take a huge toll on your emotional state, hence I learnt to become strong and independent as an early teenager itself and those values have stuck with me till today,” reminisces Shrestha.
When asked what her main challenges and vision for Krua Thai were, Shrestha replies,
There is no binding vision, obviously there the general vision of always wanting to be better, and the key thing maintaining consistency, but besides that there is no big plan, the biggest challenge would be as I’ve mentioned maintaining consistency. In order to achieve this very goal, I make it a point to listen to my staff for their feedback, it's a democracy here at Krua Thai, it's a part of my family, listen to them, they listen to me, where there's a need for an arm around the shoulder I do and when the time asks for me to a bit strict and reign them in a bit which I must do, its part and parcel of maintaining and upholding the standards we set for ourselves.
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