Cafe Sabai to have a soft-opening during Waldensian Festival in Valdese

Next week, festivalgoers will get a little preview of Cafe Sabai in downtown Valdese with a two-day soft opening during the Waldensian Festival.

Inside the building that once housed Mountain Burrito and Major’s Supper and Social, a laidback, almost languid atmosphere has begun to settle as Dara Phrakousonh pieces the cafe together.

A sofa here, a couple chairs there. Coffee tables with National Geographic magazines. The smell of pastries and tea and coffee.

When it’s complete, the building at 149 Main St. W will radiate sabai.

Originally titled “Bamboo Cafe,” Phrakousonh changed the name to pay homage to her mother.

Every time Phrakousonh would ask her half-Laotian, half-Vietnamese mother how she was doing, she got the same response: “Sabai.”

The Laotian word means relaxed or easygoing and refers to a feeling of calmness or situations that are laidback. “Sabai” can be a response similar to “no worries.”

“Lao people, we don’t make anything hard. We take everything easy. When we go to Laos, if we miss the plane, we miss the plane. We just wait for the next one coming,” Phrakousonh said, adding with a chuckle: “That’s how sabai we are.”

Phrakousonh’s approach to Cafe Sabai is all about that calm, easygoing approach to life, and the fact she can’t yet operate the kitchen hasn’t dampened her spirits one bit.

Cooked foods served during the Waldensian Festival must be prepared at Phrakousonh’s Morganton restaurant, Pho Lao. Most foods served though will be dishes that don’t require cooking, like pre-packaged Asian pastries and sandwiches. Phrakousonh will also offer Thai tea and milk tea.

Phrakousonh said Cafe Sabai’s soft opening is meant as a signal to Valdese residents that a new restaurant is coming.

Hours of operation, menu, and prices for the full opening are not yet nailed down, but Phrakousonh said Cafe Sabai will be open from about 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7 and 8, and items will be as inexpensive as possible.

Phrakousonh said she hopes to keep the maximum price of items at $10 or $11.

When Cafe Sabai is fully opened, the menu will change day-by-day with various specials based on recipes used at sister restaurant Pho Lao. One day the special may be pho, and the next it could be Pad Thai or a ramen bowl, Phrakousonh said.

There is not yet a date for the cafe’s formal opening. But, for now, Phrakousonh wants people to know the restaurant will soon open its doors.