46 • Outlook 2021
Single Fin: Thai-sushi restaurant brings modern twist to traditional flavors by Danielle Puleo
The in-person dining experience is something almost everyone is familiar with. The hustle and bustle of the prep kitchen, the soft conversations between friends and
Danielle Puleo photo
Art Maliyam, owner of Single Fin Thai-Sushi.
family members in the dining rooms, the fresh aromas leaving a trail behind each server followed by the sound of forks hitting plates are all familiar anyone who has walked in the door of a restaurant. What really goes into running a restaurant? At that, what does it take to operate a fully functioning kitchen and dining room during a pan- Courtesy Single Fin demic? These are questions that Art Maliyam all restaurant owners and employ- is all about the ees have had to find the answers “wow” factor when to, especially over the past year. guests see their food Single Fin, a Thai-sushi eatery brought to the table. nestled in the heart of Nags Head, local support was on their side. closed its doors for over seven “We have to thank all the locals for their months during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ever-changing life as it was had been support . . . they still came to pick up and hit with even more curveballs as the pan- we still saw them outside the doors every demic forced restaurants nationwide to once in a while,” Maliyam said. For Maliyam, owning and operating a shut down, leaving some having to close business is now a way of life. The restaurant their doors for good. Art Maliyam, owner of Single Fin, said business got a hold of him quickly and 23 they were lucky to have had the support of years later he is still living out his dream. “I am Thai and also cook Thai food since the community during the summer of 2020. Going from seeing smiling faces enter I was 15 in the traditional way,” Maliyam their doors every day and night to provid- said. “When I opened the restaurant, I ing only delivery and take-out shifted the wanted to make it different . . . to make entire structure of the restaurant. However, them [the dishes] look more modern,
