ONE OF the most successful and creative Westerners to leave a major imprint on Phuket's hospitality industry has left this life at age 62 after a seven-year struggle against prostate cancer.
Tom McNamara arrived to Phuket 20 years ago intent upon retirement after operating restaurants in the United States, England, France and in the Caribbean. He planned to spend the rest of his days sport fishing and playing golf. He rented a small house on a cliff overlooking Patong Bay and settled in.
But then news came that his trusted accountant of many years had embezzled almost all of Tom's savings, leaving him without the financial resources to realize his retirement dreams.
"I decided to open a small restaurant in my living room and call it Baan Rim Pa," he once said.
"Back then, my small house on the cliff on the north end of Patong Bay was far from the burgeoning tourist industry which centered around Soi Bangla and I had to deal with the tuk tuk drivers and pay them a handsome commission to get any guests to my house."
Fortunately, Tom had recruited chefs from the top hotels in Bangkok as well as managers as he wanted international service and authentic Royal Thai cuisine which at that time was impossible to find on the island.
This combination worked for his small restaurant and within a few years he expanded the seating and moved to yet a smaller house next door to accommodate his growing clientele.
Much of the recipe for success for Baan Rim Pa came from the location but even more from Tom's ability to make his guests feel welcome and comfortable in a unique, charming environment. He firmly believed that the colour pink was key to making people feel relaxed.
He also searched North America for an entertainer who would be the centerpiece at Baan Rim Pa. He found Tommy Doyle in Las Vegas and bought a grand piano and installed his imported pianist at the centre of his restaurant, next to the bar.
It was a combination that proved to be the magnet for his international clientele.
Tom could have settled and lived very comfortably off the revenues of Baan Rim Pa. But his innovative nature was always creating new pleasures for his guests.
He decided to open a wine cellar, pairing Thai cuisine with European wine, the first on the island where people had traditionally drank beer with their Thai food.
He invited sommeliers from America to build a wine cellar that gained the prestigious Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
Every space around Baan Rim Pa became a nook for some new adventure. His gift shop featuring the restaurant's cookbooks and CDs of Tommy Doyle's music as well as the best crafts found around Southeast Asia.
Downstairs he built a private club with the island's first flat-screen TV where his VIP guests could enjoy brandy, cigars and conversation.
But Tom wanted to have restaurants beyond Baan Rim Pa. He opened nearby Da Maurizio, Phuket's first gourmet Italian restaurant, with his friend from his New York days, Maurizio Laureri.
And in between these two bistros, he had Otawa for many years which provided Japanese sushi and sashimi from chefs imported from Japan.
When Tom wanted to innovate and create new flavors he decided to promote Japanese cuisine with French influences.
Eventually, Otawa became the now popular Joe's Downstairs, the meeting place for Phuket's most cosmopolitan residents and major stop on the visitor schedule to the island.
Even in the past few years when Tom knew he had only a short time to live, he threw himself into work. He decided to open an authentic Sichuan restaurant down the hill at Kalim Bay and call it Hung Fat's.
I asked him why the unusual name. "I don't know," he said. "I just like the way it sounds."
Tom spent many nights overseeing operations at his various restaurants. While it seemed to guests that he was totally absorbed in conversation, he could stop at any moment, flag down passing staff and ask why a table setting had not been made or insist that a chair be added to an area to give the impression of a crowded space.
While Tom's main business was food, his success came as a showman who provided entertainment and provided an experience that made people feel thankful for the opportunity to spend an evening with him.
Tom did not have an easy or conventional life. He grew up on the East Coast of America and from an early age, his instincts about the hospitality industry kept him on the cutting edge of what was happening in the restaurant business.
He opened his first bistro in Manhattan's SoHo in the 1970s when this warehouse district was turning into a trendy area with art galleries and restaurants that attracted the wealthy and the powerful.
He put art on the walls and introduced fresh, original cuisine which immediately put him in the limelight. Though he had early success in New York, Tom spent the next two decades moving between France, England and the Caribbean where he opened restaurants each time playing with different culinary concepts.
But Phuket proved to be the destination he most loved. He was adept at working with Thai staff and survived through challenges of the tsunami, SARS, bird flu and other disasters while operating Patong Beach's most successful business.
Tom McNamara arrived to Phuket 20 years ago intent upon retirement after operating restaurants in the United States, England, France and in the Caribbean. He planned to spend the rest of his days sport fishing and playing golf. He rented a small house on a cliff overlooking Patong Bay and settled in.
But then news came that his trusted accountant of many years had embezzled almost all of Tom's savings, leaving him without the financial resources to realize his retirement dreams.
"I decided to open a small restaurant in my living room and call it Baan Rim Pa," he once said.
"Back then, my small house on the cliff on the north end of Patong Bay was far from the burgeoning tourist industry which centered around Soi Bangla and I had to deal with the tuk tuk drivers and pay them a handsome commission to get any guests to my house."
Fortunately, Tom had recruited chefs from the top hotels in Bangkok as well as managers as he wanted international service and authentic Royal Thai cuisine which at that time was impossible to find on the island.
This combination worked for his small restaurant and within a few years he expanded the seating and moved to yet a smaller house next door to accommodate his growing clientele.
Much of the recipe for success for Baan Rim Pa came from the location but even more from Tom's ability to make his guests feel welcome and comfortable in a unique, charming environment. He firmly believed that the colour pink was key to making people feel relaxed.
He also searched North America for an entertainer who would be the centerpiece at Baan Rim Pa. He found Tommy Doyle in Las Vegas and bought a grand piano and installed his imported pianist at the centre of his restaurant, next to the bar.
It was a combination that proved to be the magnet for his international clientele.
Tom could have settled and lived very comfortably off the revenues of Baan Rim Pa. But his innovative nature was always creating new pleasures for his guests.
He decided to open a wine cellar, pairing Thai cuisine with European wine, the first on the island where people had traditionally drank beer with their Thai food.
He invited sommeliers from America to build a wine cellar that gained the prestigious Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
Every space around Baan Rim Pa became a nook for some new adventure. His gift shop featuring the restaurant's cookbooks and CDs of Tommy Doyle's music as well as the best crafts found around Southeast Asia.
Downstairs he built a private club with the island's first flat-screen TV where his VIP guests could enjoy brandy, cigars and conversation.
But Tom wanted to have restaurants beyond Baan Rim Pa. He opened nearby Da Maurizio, Phuket's first gourmet Italian restaurant, with his friend from his New York days, Maurizio Laureri.
And in between these two bistros, he had Otawa for many years which provided Japanese sushi and sashimi from chefs imported from Japan.
When Tom wanted to innovate and create new flavors he decided to promote Japanese cuisine with French influences.
Eventually, Otawa became the now popular Joe's Downstairs, the meeting place for Phuket's most cosmopolitan residents and major stop on the visitor schedule to the island.
Even in the past few years when Tom knew he had only a short time to live, he threw himself into work. He decided to open an authentic Sichuan restaurant down the hill at Kalim Bay and call it Hung Fat's.
I asked him why the unusual name. "I don't know," he said. "I just like the way it sounds."
Tom spent many nights overseeing operations at his various restaurants. While it seemed to guests that he was totally absorbed in conversation, he could stop at any moment, flag down passing staff and ask why a table setting had not been made or insist that a chair be added to an area to give the impression of a crowded space.
While Tom's main business was food, his success came as a showman who provided entertainment and provided an experience that made people feel thankful for the opportunity to spend an evening with him.
Tom did not have an easy or conventional life. He grew up on the East Coast of America and from an early age, his instincts about the hospitality industry kept him on the cutting edge of what was happening in the restaurant business.
He opened his first bistro in Manhattan's SoHo in the 1970s when this warehouse district was turning into a trendy area with art galleries and restaurants that attracted the wealthy and the powerful.
He put art on the walls and introduced fresh, original cuisine which immediately put him in the limelight. Though he had early success in New York, Tom spent the next two decades moving between France, England and the Caribbean where he opened restaurants each time playing with different culinary concepts.
But Phuket proved to be the destination he most loved. He was adept at working with Thai staff and survived through challenges of the tsunami, SARS, bird flu and other disasters while operating Patong Beach's most successful business.
He was a great man who will be missed by all his team at the Baan Rim pa Group and his friends both locally and abroad.
Posted by Sue on November 30, 2008 10:06