SOME VERY NICE RICE. Located within Eau Claire’s Banbury Place, Lor Diner opened in February. The eatery features Thai cuisine, such as crab rangoon and pad thai, as well as other Asian favorites, such as pho and fried rice.

When customers walk into Lor Diner, they should be hungry, prepared to try new food and eager to meet new people. The owner of Lor Diner, Mai Vang Lor, said she loves customer service and meeting the people who come in to eat at her restaurant.

“It’s never the same experience for everybody – and with everybody. I always look forward to what’s going to happen every day.” – Mai Vang Lor, owner of Lor Diner

“Although there’s a lot of different aspects that come with owning a restaurant and running a restaurant, it definitely is the different people that I see every day,” Lor said. “It’s never the same experience for everybody – and with everybody. I always look forward to what’s going to happen every day.” 

Lor Diner – which opened in Banbury Place Feb. 26 – features Thai cuisine, such as crab rangoon and pad thai, as well as some other Asian favorites, such as pho and fried rice. The restaurant also has some American classics: burgers, chicken sandwiches, and fries. 

Lor runs the restaurant and handles the “behind-the-scenes” aspects of the business, while her father, Louis, cooks. Her father’s dream was to own a restaurant, and she went to college in hopes of one day owning a business, she said. 

Mai’s experience with waitressing, cooking, and customer service is what led her to open a restaurant. Lor said she felt owning a restaurant would be a great experience for her and her father. 

“It is something I definitely enjoy doing,” Lor said. “The behind-the-scenes stuff – all the finance and stuff – keeps me busy, but I like it, so I’m excited to have many years to come.”

The most popular dishes are pho noodles, fried rice, and pad thai, Lor said, but customers tend to order egg rolls and crab rangoon alongside their meals as well. From “everything on the menu,” Lor said she likes the curry noodles the best because they’ve always been a favorite meal of hers. 

Lor said community members should come out to try the cuisine even if they have friends or family along who don’t like Thai food. The restaurant’s diverse offerings provide options for everyone, she said. 

“The food’s great, and we have great customer service,” Lor said. “We make sure the wait staff know that customers are number one.”

The restaurant staff are always open to suggestions about the menu, Lor said. She said she loves to hear from customers what dishes they’d like to see on the menu or what changes they think should be made. 

Lor Diner is located in Site 210 in Building 2 of Banbury Place. From the main entrance of the building, the diner is just up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to the right. Learn more at facebook.com/LORDINER.