T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA The former Home Pizza is St. Clairsville will soon be the home for Thai Wok.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – The former Home Pizza location will soon see life again.

Thai Wok has signed a lease and plans to begin renovations soon to convert the former pizza spot into the city’s first Thai restaurant.

Zoning and Planning Administrator Tom Murphy said the city is fully supportive of the new restaurant.

“We can’t wait to see it open up. Since we made the announcement at council, I’ve already had numerous residents who have asked me about the restaurant. It’s really exciting for the public,” Murphy said. “It gives us a diversity in downtown, which we haven’t had for a long time in restaurants. In addition to this new restaurant, Audrey’s Avenue opened last year, Giacinta’s Gelato & Caffe opened a number of years ago. Newellstown Diner, which has been there for a long time, and various pizza shops. So we’re really starting to expand and diversify the downtown restaurant scene in St. Clairsville.”

He added that future Thai Wok owner and operator Johnly Lee has been easy to work with while getting everything in place to open the restaurant.

Lee currently lives in Toronto, Canada, and said that although he has signed the lease, he cannot open until his work visa is approved.

He said he recently assembled a renovation team that estimates the project will take about 25 days.

While waiting for visa approval, Lee has already provided a rough draft of a menu to Murphy and the Belmont County Health Department.

“After the renovation, the people from the health department will come to our shop and make the inspection. Then we’ll get approval and the license, then we can have the grand opening,” Lee said.

Lee said he discovered the city after visiting a family member who worked at Osaka Steakhouse at the Ohio Valley Mall, which led him to notice a lack of Thai food in Belmont County.

“We love this city and know that people have delicious food options in St. Clairsville because there are successful Mexican, Chinese and American fast food and pizza restaurants. But there isn’t any Thai food, which made us think we could provide this option here,” he said.

He added that he has already provided a rough draft of a menu to Murphy and the Belmont County Health Department.

“We will have more of the typical flavors, for example, mango sticky rice. Something for meat lovers, for example, chicken Pad Thai and Thai noodles,” Lee said.

He said this will be his first business in the United States, but he has previously owned restaurants in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Lee said he is excited to bring his experience not only to the United States but to St. Clairsville.