Thai Pop-Up Shophouse Changing its Name to Little Uncle

If you read the mothership, or other national food media, you've probably seen talk of Chipotle's new fast-casual Southeast Asian chain, ShopHouse. Of course here in Seattle, that name (with a lower case "h") belongs to the popular Monday night pop-up dinner by Lark sous chef Wiley Frank and his wife Poncharee Kounpungchart (aka PK).

Today Frank wrote to let Eater know the couple is changing the business's name to Little Uncle. Frank says it makes sense to make a change now, before ShopHouse continues its march across the nation and creates more confusion in Seattle.

The new name honors PK’s father, who came to the US in the 1970s. According to Frank, his nickname was “Lung Lek” or “Little Uncle” in English. "We decided to rename ourselves Little Uncle because it reminds us of the importance of family traditions, especially as it relates to food," he says.

Frank and PK will phase out the Shophouse name and introduce Little Uncle over the next few weeks to give diners time to adjust. Shophouse-Little Uncle weekly dinners are now in full swing at La Bete and the couple will be at the Columbia City Farmers Market through October 19.

· All Shophouse Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]