For 22 years customers have been visiting Shepparton’s Aloi Thai restaurant for the food, but also to bask in owner Nattaya Tranter’s radiant energy.
Now, it’s time for Mrs Tranter and her family to step away from the business and hand the reins to staff member Kotchaporn Walter and her husband, Carl Walter.
After decades cooking for others, making sure each customer is as content as can be, Mrs Tranter is putting her passion into something a little different — though with as much vibrancy — painting.
She said after more than three decades of hard work, from working in farms to restaurants, it was time.
“I feel like a free bird,” she said.
“But it’s time, my Buddhas want me to do nothing at home, just painting, easy work, something like that.”
After suffering an injury to her leg almost a year ago, Mrs Tranter was in constant pain.
She had to stay home and rest while her daughter and restaurant manager Kelly Tranter took the helm.
With a boisterous personality, it’s no surprise Mrs Tranter got restless.
And so, she began painting. She never imagined nine months later it would have become her next pursuit.
“It’s like therapy, when I’m painting the pain is gone,” she said.
As a final hurrah for the Tranters, Aloi Thai will open its doors on Sunday for an afternoon tea and an exhibit of Mrs Tranter’s works.
Half the proceeds will go to those in need in her home town in Thailand and with a goal to beat last year’s fundraising, she’s hoping to raise about $8000.
She said over the 22 years, moving locations three times and with a brief period of hiatus, customers had stayed loyal — some even spanning the whole time.
When asked how she’d be remembered in the restaurant, Mrs Tranter laughed.
“Being loud,” she said.
“I just love cooking, I love to see all my customers’ smiley faces and have them enjoy my food.
“Every time when I finished cooking and I come out to see my customers and say hello to them, because that's me, I want to see that they're happy with my food.”
Mrs Tranter says the restaurant will stay the same in terms of menu and recipes, though a few new selections may be on offer with “very passionate” new owners.
“We wish them the very best in their business journey and hope that it as full of happiness, love and success as it was for us,” she said.
The afternoon tea will run from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday, August 14 at Aloi Thai Restaurant, 339 Wyndham St, Shepparton.