While Thai food is known to be spicy, the food at Mae Ploy’s comes in a range of spice levels from 0 to 5, so everyone can enjoy the food no matter what their tolerances are.
Nuploy Stone was born in Thailand, where she met and married Roy before moving to the United States in the early 2000s. At the time, Roy worked for GE at Thai Air. She wanted to bring the culture and cuisine of her homeland to her adopted country. She worked in other Thai restaurants for many years, and during that time her desire to open her own only intensified.
After Roy retired in 2018, she decided to take the plunge.
“Ploy is a great cook and loved to introduce people to the food from her culture,” Roy Stone said. “So a restaurant seemed like the best way.”
The past few years have been difficult for the food and beverage industry as a whole, and Mae Ploy’s is no exception. They faced common issues such as rising food costs and difficulty finding and retaining staff. For the Stones, the latter was even more difficult, because they wanted to build an all-Thai chef team.
Additionally, the Stones bought another restaurant in Lebanon, Villaggio’s Italian Eatery, in 2021, and juggling two restaurants has been a challenge, but with help from good staff and repeat customers, the Stones are up to that challenge.
Mae Ploy’s Thai Restaurant has won Best International Eats in Warren County in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Right now, the Stones’ priority for the future is to win that award again and keep pleasing customers.
How to go
What: Mae Ploy’s Thai Restaurant
Where: 11 S. Broadway St. in Lebanon.
Hours: Noon-9 p.m. on Saturday, noon-8 p.m. on Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for lunch and 4:30-9 p.m. for dinner on Tuesday through Friday. Closed Mondays
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