Experience, the Greatest teacher
No sooner than she stepped foot in the United States, Patta went to work. Mere hours after her flight arrived from Thailand, she started her career in the restaurant industry, washing dishes at a Japanese restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She had no idea at the time that she would one day own a chain of her own. She was just happy to be somewhere new, on an adventure, ready to fly wherever the wind might take her.
Her hard work ethic and pride in what she did earned her promotion after promotion, eventually taking her to some of the country’s biggest restaurant chains, such as SEA Thai in New York. What she learned there she would take with her for the rest of her life: that the best restaurants provide the best experience. Chasing opportunity, she moved to the West Coast where she settled down, started a family, and an empire.
Empire means family
After she had her first child, Patta found a purpose greater than herself and one worth struggling to protect. Family is everything. Soon, Patta no longer saw success as an exclusively business affair; it applies to family, too. Putting her children first, she developed the grit and persistence it takes to make a business and a family work and grow. She endured trial after trial but never relented for the love of her children and passion for her business.
Patta makes sure that at the SEA Crab House, family comes first. We take care of our own. Our mission is to create raving fans out of our customers, employees, community, and family. It’s about the experience. It’s about love. We also host local fundraisers to support our favorite causes and donate a certain amount of our profits to deserving charities.
patta's empire: have faith in me
“I once thought success would be easy.”
Patta’s parents wanted her to do well in school, but she did not fit the mold they had made for her. Rather than take her college entrance exams, as all Thai youths are made to do, she packed her bags and flew to America. Armed with nothing more than a dream and a desire to work hard, she took a leap into an adventure no one back home could understand.
What is success, and what does it take to get there? These are the questions Patta asked herself when she started her first entrepreneurial endeavors. Her first forays into working for herself bore fruit, giving her the false sense that success would be easy. But, when an international political crisis coupled with a personal crisis put her business at risk, she folded.
Such began her real story of success, one mired in failures, false starts, and personal challenges. Soon, Patta would learn what it means to achieve success, both in business and in family. Hers is a story of what it takes to develop the grit and persistence it takes to rise above the pack, to achieve victory in business, and personal triumph at home. Hers is a story of how an immigrant girl rose up to create her empire of business and family.