Ly Food Market in South Oak Cliff has become the hub for Lao culture in Dallas.
Run by the Southammavong family, the hole-in-the-wall store situated in a strip mall in Cockrell Hill is the source of some of Dallas’ best Thai and Lao food.
While the city has plenty of stereotypical pad Thai and curries, the Southammavong family recipes are hugely flavorful and unique, bringing the spicy kick of Lao as the family-run business has its roots in Laos. Dishes are served from a small window in the back of the market, but customers order at the cash register in the front grocery section.
The store is run by owner Kam and his wife Ly, the chef, and their four sons. One of them, Phillip, is the manager.
“We tend to focus on introducing people to our food,” Phillip says. “Lao food is kind of unknown. People would ask what it is, and I would say it’s similar to Thai food.”
On top of its hot food, Ly is a well-stocked Southeast Asian grocery store with a diverse selection of Vietnamese, Thai and Lao pantry goods. The store is small but mighty, and is a perfect place to stock up on noodles, seasonings, sauces and snacks.
After relocating to DFW from Los Angeles in 2006, the Southammavong’s opened Ly Food Market 12 years ago. Since then, they have grown organically solely based on their quality food and customer service.
“We were doing grocery store stuff first, and then eventually we started doing food to get people to come in,” Phillip says. “It’s funny, because a lot of people were always like, ‘Hey, I just walked by your store and I just smelled the food coming out. I had to stop by and see what’s going on.’”
While Laotian food, like the Laotian language and culture, has many similarities to its Thai counterpart, it also has some significant differences.
Thai dishes often need to be simmered for hours at a time, while Laotian foods can be prepared far more quickly. Thai dishes often have a coconut milk base, whereas it is more typical for Laotian food to use a type of fermented fish paste called padaek. Thai food is also most often served with white rice, while Laotian food is usually accompanied by sticky rice.
These fresh dishes began to grow the business, and that’s how Ly has become what it is today.
Phillip says they have never used or relied on advertising for their store, and word of mouth paired with social media has been enough to bring them success.
“We never liked the idea of paying for advertising,” Phillip says. “We relied on good word of mouth at first, but then social media was on the rise, so Facebook, Instagram and occasionally TikTok played a part in that.”
On top of that, Ly has overwhelming positive reviews online which has helped to keep business steady.
The store offers daily specials on popular dishes such as pad thai, fried rice, pad see ew, pho or curry. Their traditional Lao dishes include Lao sausage, beef larb and sen khao piak.
“We try to keep the price low, and we don’t want to get fancy and spend a lot more money,” Kam says. “We want to open people’s hearts and minds into learning other cultures.”
The family desires to be the go-to spot in Dallas for the best Thai and Lao food.
“We want to make something that people recognize,” Kam says. “When you want Thai food, you go to Ly. When you want Lao food, you go to Ly.”
Ly Food Market, 4440 W Illinois Avenue, 214.330.9616
