Built on family
Senior Sid Benberg and her family came to the United States from Thailand in 2017. Benberg’s mom, Pensub, had owned restaurants in Thailand and came to the states to open an authentic Thai restaurant.
Benberg’s father, Niels, opened Thai Chili two years ago primarily for Pensub, for her love of cooking. Thai Chili sits tucked in a corner in a strip mall off of 87th street. Inside is lit up with bright walls of yellow and green and tables are set neatly with vases and flowers.
“It’s all my mom,” Benberg said. “My dad just takes her ideas, gives them to the printer, and when it comes back, my mom corrects everything she wants to keep. She’s in control of prices and the food on the menu, and basically every inventory.”
Benberg and her father are running the restaurant, while Pensub is in Chicago to open another place.
Before Niels started self-employment, he worked for a larger business.
“I’ve just always enjoyed working for myself,” Niels said. “I found out that most people won’t work as hard as I do.”
Both Benberg and Niels work everything from seating people to cooking in the kitchen. Niels keeps the employment small by having primarily family members and friends help out.
“I’ve always been self-employed all my life,” Niels said. “The people that I have here are like family. Everybody looks out for each other. If someone needs an extra hand, somebody jumps in.”
Benberg has been working for her family, even before they opened Thai Chili. Niels had previously worked for a construction company where Benberg would help her father out with projects. Those skills came in handy when it came to getting the inside of Thai Chili ready for opening, when Benberg was only 14.
“My mom mostly decorated the restaurant; my dad and I just built it,” Benberg said. “My dad did all of the materials, most of the building, but I did most of the little stuff.”
Niels works six days a week to ensure customers will be eating quality food made authentically how Pensub wants.
“When you’re self-employed, you’ll be working up to lunchtime on the bay of your funeral,” Niels said.
Settling in
Sung Son, owner of Sang Sang Asian Express, came to the United States from Vietnam in 1991.
Sang Sang is relocated off of Nieman Road in Shawnee. Son is the founder of China Peace and Sung Son Vietnamese. After 12 years in the KCMO area, Son moved to Shawnee on 75th Street. After having his first child senior Sang Son, he named it Sang Sang after him.
After 12 years, Son’s restaurant moved a month ago to Nieman Road in Shawnee.
“We plan to continue to keep things over here the same,” Son said. “A lot of customers know we built up from the ground up.”
Son’s restaurant style is a mix of Asian cuisine, including Vietnamese and Chinese-style dishes.
“We create and modify our own menu,” Son said. “We try to adjust with what the customers like. And if some items do not sell a lot, we take them off.”
After their recent move, Son hopes to bring in some more business in the area with community sanctioned events hosted throughout the year nearby like, Old Shawnee Days and Moonlight Market.
Son has been a business owner for 20 years and has created his own community with customers and hopes to continue that relationship as they settle into their new location.
Toni’s Italian restaurant
Tonis Italian restaurant is owned by two brothers, Toni Curri and Mario Maloku. Toni’s was started by the brothers in 2018 at their original location in Olathe, eventually relocating to Shawnee in 2025 due to construction issues.
The idea for this restaurant originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Back in high school, my dad had a restaurant I was working at the restaurant,” Maloku said. “And then, as you know, I found it attractive for me to start opening up the family business and continue it.”
The brothers worked hard to open their restaurant.
“When you 1st start, you know, maybe a few times you may fail,” Maloku said. “But you don’t give up.”
Even through the hardships, they persevered and brought their business to what it is today. The restaurant itself is a cozy, romantic place. It is dimly lit yet still holds character, with paintings on each wall in between booths and televisions around the room, plastered with Italian scenery. The divider towards the back of the room is lined with wine bottles and fake plants.
Maloku and his brother take pride in their work and have a 4.4-star rating on Yelp, 4.5 stars on Google reviews, and 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor. They are praised for their large portions and authentic Italian food, crafting dishes to set them apart from other Italian restaurants.
Toni’s most popular dishes are Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Alfredo, and Tony’s combo.
“Come over, come try our food,” Maloku said,” Everybody likes Italian.”
