Wednesday, August 19, 2026 / Friendly neighborhood / Eugene
Krob Krua traded Pearl Street for paper menus and a Friendly food cart
The same three owners are cooking as Lucky Thai with lower overhead, lower prices and an ordering system firmly located in 1999.
Krob Krua did not disappear so much as fold itself into a food cart. Owners Jeffry and Varalux “Luck” Hardinger and Sujitra “Pat” Baker opened Lucky Thai in Eugene's Friendly neighborhood after closing their brick-and-mortar restaurant at 13th and Pearl.
The new operation favors paper menus, counter orders and a telephone that may go unanswered when the crew is busy. “We're kind of running it like 1999,” Hardinger told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. The reduction in overhead has lowered some menu prices by as much as 35%, while the kitchen still makes its curries, broths, dumplings, sausage and marinades in house.
Lucky Thai opened in early June in The Healthy Pet's parking lot, with covered picnic-table seating and a small garden. The name is new; the trio's cooking partnership goes back more than 15 years. There is no app to refresh. The food cart would prefer that you arrive.
Field notes
What changed: The Krob Krua owners reopened their Thai cooking as Lucky Thai, a Friendly-neighborhood food cart.
Why it matters: A locally followed restaurant closure has an answer, with a new location, ordering model and lower prices.
Who may be affected: Krob Krua customers and residents looking for the new Lucky Thai location and ordering process.