twist to traditional fl avors

Single Fin: Thai-sushi restaurant brings modern twist to traditional flavors

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 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 pandemic? These are questions that all restaurant owners and employees have had to find the answers to, especially over the past year.

Single Fin, a Thai-sushi eatery nestled in the heart of Nags Head, closed its doors for over seven months during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ever-changing life as it was had been hit with even more curveballs as the pandemic forced restaurants nationwide to shut down, leaving some having to close their doors for good.

Art Maliyam, owner of Single Fin, said they were lucky to have had the support of the community during the summer of 2020. Going from seeing smiling faces enter their doors every day and night to providing only delivery and take-out shifted the entire structure of the restaurant. However, local support was on their side.

“We have to thank all the locals for their support . . . they still came to pick up and we still saw them outside the doors every once in a while,” Maliyam said.

For Maliyam, owning and operating a business is now a way of life. The restaurant business got a hold of him quickly and 23 years later he is still living out his dream.

“I am Thai and also cook Thai food since I was 15 in the traditional way,” Maliyam said. “When I opened the restaurant, I wanted to make it different . . . to make them [the dishes] look more modern,

Danielle Puleo photo

Art Maliyam, owner of Single Fin Thai-Sushi.

by Danielle Puleo

Courtesy Single Fin

Art Maliyam is all about the “wow” factor when guests see their food brought to the table.

Courtesy Single Fin

Art Maliyam and his employees worked really hard to achieve a 100% sanitization rating at Single Fin.

upscale but still keep it traditional tasting. And sushi is my passion.”

Single Fin was established in June of 2017 and has collected multiple awards of a very short period of time.

So much goes into operating a successful establishment such as Single Fin. Maliyam referred to his three “key words” for how has been able to successfully run his eatery: quick, clean and quality.

“When talking about Single Fin, we can ensure that all the dishes that we serve, we use quality ingredients, including local fish of each season.” Quality ingredients play a huge part in the delectable dishes served.

During the pandemic, Maliyam said some ingredients were hard to come by, including certain Asian spices and foods such as mushrooms. “Stuff that was usually easy to get but now just out of stock,” he shared. “It was tough.”

“Clean,” the second big key word in running a restaurant well, came into play even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maliyam noted that his staff worked diligently day in and day out to keep the restaurant fully sanitized, both with the hot and cold kitchens for both their Thai cuisine and sushi station. “We have had a 100% score on health and sanitization for the last two inspections . . . I have to credit this to my employees.”

The third keyword Maliyam noted, “quick,” has really come into play throughout the course of the pandemic. Employees were normally trained to work fast and multi-task, functioning during high volume times. Switching over to just delivery and takeout was no different.

“Some consider Single Fin as a fine dining place, but we also serve a big group of customers for takeout and delivery,” Maliyam said. With multiple ways to order and provide quick service, employees were tasked with completing their new necessary jobs both quickly and efficiently. Following CDC guidelines, Single Fin adopted contactless delivery and contactless payment methods. Once opening their doors back up to the public in November, QR codes are pasted on all tables for contactless menus and ordering. Single Fin requires all employees to wear masks, wash hands regularly and ensure everyone is making use of the sanitization stations located throughout the building.

“I like that we have a very good team and good employees,” Maliyam shared. With new challenges faced head-on, Single Fin managed to keep running and make it through a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dynamic nature of the restaurant business can be unforgiving but ever-rewarding, and Maliyam is happy to see his guests back in Single Fin. 