Bogi and Nok met in Thailand in 1988 and were married in 1989. Nok then moved to Iceland along with her sons Charin (10) and Nimit (8)
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Nimit, Charin, Bogi and Nok in 1989 |
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The spring roll wagon on Lækjartorg |
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Bogi had been selling spring rolls in his custom made wagon in Lækjartorg (the square in downtown Reykjavík) for several years but soon after Nok arrived they rented a small space on the corner of Laugavegur and Smiðjustígur and opened Iceland's first oriental fast food restaurant. The place was called Thailandi and soon grew too big for its surroundings. They rented the adjacent building for cooking and storage and opened another more sophisticated Thai restaurant on the second floor.
For a while Bogi and Nok ran a branch of Thailandi outside the city center (Höfðabakki)
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Thailandi at Höfðabakki |
In those days it was hard to find the various herbs, spices and other raw material essential for this style of cooking. Nok had to ask her family in Thailand to send them what they needed and thus gradually Bogi and Nok started importing oriental food products. They then opened the Oriental Warehouse in Hafnarfjörður.
During this period the family lived in Álftanes in a house that Bogi himself had built. It was there in 1995 that the fifth family member, Jón, was born.
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The oriental warehouse in Hafnarfjörður |
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The house that Bogi built for his family |
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In 1996 things started going downhill. The country was on the brink of an economic crisis, Bogi's business had expanded too fast and on top of everything there was a dispute over the property rights of the place bought to run the Thailandi branch at Höfðabakki. There was nothing else to do than sell everything there was to sell to fulfill the commitments made to the creditors.
When everything was sold the family had to find a new place to live. The money was tight since the sale of the properties hadn't covered all the debts which would take years to settle. Bogi went back to being a tinsmith, a trade he had learnt in his youth and Nok got a job at a fish factory. In 1996 they rented the then deserted house at Hlið and made it habitable.
In 1999 Bogi founded Vogur, a ventilation service which specialized in cleaning ventilation systems. That company merged with another company, ISS Iceland in 2003. That same year Bogi and Nok added the sun room to the house at Hlið where they now run a home restaurant.
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Hlið when Bogi rented it in 1996 |
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Hlið home restaurant in 2004 |
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The couple has now bought the entire property at Hlið and are starting a tourist service. They have plans to enlarge the restaurant and to build a spa.
So now the future is bright and smiling at the family once again.
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