Chicago food startup Laos to your House takes national approach with ready-made meals
Nam khao, or crispy rice salad, is a signature dish from Laos. Jasmine rice with red curry is fried then flavored with fish sauce, cilantro and lime, and eaten on top of a crunchy lettuce leaf. It's also made with pork, or without for vegetarians.
Since August, customers outside of Chicago have been able to sample nam khao and 10 other ready-made dishes from Laos to Your House, which specializes in Lao cuisine.
Expanding the reach of the Chicago-based food company is part of the mission of its co-founder and CEO Stacy Seuamsothabandith and her husband Byron Gully, co-founder and chief operating officer. They strive to shine a spotlight on Laos and share its culture and cuisine so it’s no longer the “forgotten” Asian country, they said.
The family business now ships its ready-made meals, cold or frozen, to customers across the country — from Texas to California and beyond — as well as in the Chicago area. About one-third of its orders are delivered locally or picked up from its site at The Hatchery Chicago, a food business incubator and commercial kitchen in East Garfield Park.
Seuamsothabandith and her brother Keo Seuam, executive chef of Laos to Your House, learned to make nam khao and other dishes from their late mother. Their parents were refugees from Laos who immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970s, due to war and political turmoil in southeast Asia. They settled in the Quad Cities region, and the siblings grew up primarily in Colona, in Henry County.
The launch of ready-made meals is a shift away from Laos to Your House’s original business model of a virtual restaurant that served customers via delivery and pickup one day per week.
The new business model allows the company to ship its ready-made meals nationwide five days per week. It also focuses on making 11 dishes rather than the 36 on its previous menu.
The company’s most popular dishes include sai oua (spicy lao sausage); gang phet (spicy red chicken curry); thom khem (braised pork belly stew) and laap gai (minced chicken salad), which is considered the national dish of Laos. Most meals cost $13.99, excluding tax and shipping.
Laos to Your House uses FedEx’s one- to two-day express service. It shares delivery costs with customers, which can range from $13.95 for up to three items to $27.59 for up to 18 items. The company also offers local delivery within 12 miles of The Hatchery and weekday pickups. Chicago suburbs get overnight FedEx delivery if they’re outside that radius.
A rich Lao heritage
The three family members launched Laos to Your House in spring 2022 while still working day jobs. Seuamsothabandith worked as an accounting industry recruiter. Gully was at an insurance-tech company, and Seuam was a casino floor manager. Gully is not Laotian and grew up on the South Side. “But his heart is Lao,” says the company’s website.
“We were discussing the culinary landscape and how it was disheartening that Laotian cuisine was not represented in Chicago, the third-largest market in the U.S.,” Gully said. The food of Laos has received little attention compared to that of neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, he said.
“Amidst the diverse array of cuisines represented in Chicago, there was a significant gap when considering Lao-dedicated restaurants: There were none,” Seuamsothabandith said. “We felt a deep sense of duty and purpose to bring our rich heritage and unique cuisine to the spotlight.”
In February 2023, the siblings left their day jobs to focus on Laos to Your House and moved from a commercial space at Kitchen Chicago to The Hatchery. This May, Gully was laid off from his job and joined the business full-time.
Ready-made meals open up Lao food to more people, including those missing the unique cuisine or who are too busy to cook, Gully said. But the company, which also caters events, will continue hosting pop-up, in-person “food experiences” about once every quarter. It's hosting a brunch on Dec. 8 at The Hatchery and an event in April 2025 for Lao New Year.
From its launch in 2022 through the end of 2023, revenue grew more than 500%, Gully said. In 2024, sales are forecasted to grow about 200% year over year. He declined to disclose exact figures.
There are some similarities between food from Laos and Thailand and Vietnam. But Lao cuisine is served with herbs and fresh greens such as lettuce, as well as sticky rice and Lao dipping sauces, like jeow bong.
Seuamsothabandith recalled that for Thanksgiving, her mother Phengphanh used to make a traditional spread with turkey, mashed potatoes and other fixings. But she prepared her turkey "Asian style" with red sauce similar to what is used for char siu (Chinese barbecue pork).
Her mother, who died in 2015, would also add Lao dishes to their Thanksgiving feast, including sticky rice, spicy papaya salad, egg rolls and sai oua — pork sausage seasoned with lemongrass, dill, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and red chilis.
“Whatever dish my mom made was amazing,” Seuamsothabandith said. “She was the best chef.” Now through Laos to Your House, her mother’s legacy continues on.