In Somphet Ming Muang Market, Chiang Mai, there is a storefront. Right now it is under renovation, but on 6 March 2024 it will unveil a new addition to the market as a Ming Muang Eatery and Wine bar. The bar is opened by Danish Søren Barnak and his wife Phatpreeya Napapiromchot.
As I make my way among the booths I spot Søren Barnak. He is busy supervising the construction workers. Making sure that everything is perfect. When he sees me, he quickly creates a small seating space for us among the construction materials.
Søren Barnak is 54 years old and has a degree in sociology from Roskilde university in Denmark, but has been working in the golf industry for years. Now he is investing in a small wine bar in Chiang Mai.
A spontaneous decision
“We plan to open next week, but it is difficult to make sure everything is done right. The language barrier really can be difficult in these situations,” he explains as he describes the difference between the three headed and two headed electrical sockets.
Even though the language barrier creates issues it is clear that Søren is not new to Thai culture. However there was a time when Thailand was more a vacation location than a home.
Years ago when Søren Barnak got divorced from his late wife, he had a choice to make. He always loved to travel, but was it too late? Should he just buy a house and settle down in Denmark?
“I figured, I could buy a house and settle down in Denmark later on, if it was still on my mind,” he explains.
Luckily he had the option of working remotely which gave him the opportunity to travel all around Asia. And lucky that he did because on a market in Chiang Mai five years ago he met his new wife Phatpreeya Napapiromchot, nicknamed Phat.
“I saw her smile, and I was sold,” Søren says while looking at Phat.
She is getting instructed on how to use the new coffee machine that just got delivered a few meters from us.
They got married this October, and have been trying to figure out an endeavor together ever since. Initially they wanted to open a restaurant, Søren explains, but they weren’t sure how exactly to make it happen.
An Eatery and wine bar
While searching for a space for their restaurant, Søren and Phat were drinking wine, they realized that there really weren’t that many wine places in the Old Town of Chiang Mai.
“It just seemed like a better idea. Then we didn’t need that big a kitchen or the long hours cooking,” Søren Barnak says.
Also, Søren explains they expect the wine bar to attract some of the faculty from the university in the city.
Of course Søren is excited to see how it is going to go. Will people come and buy? but he follows his concern with a characteristic about himself:
“I am the kind of person who believes that anything is possible”
An investor, not an owner
The winery is something for Søren and Phat to do together. However, due to labor laws in Thailand, Søren can’t actively be involved in the running of the establishment.
“Officially, Phat will own and handle the daily running of the place,” he explains.
That however doesn’t diminish the pride and joy in Sørens eyes when he shows me around explaining the plans for the interior design.
The design is a mixture of Thai and Scandinavian design. With the new wooden furniture and the original floor tiles.
Søren is going home to Denmark in a couple of months, but ideally the dream is that he at some point he won’t have to leave Chiang Mai and the life he is slowly creating for himself here.
The Eatery and Wine Bar plans to open on 6 March 2024.
