Sept. 9, 2026
A native of Laos has relocated her restaurant from The Empire Mall to Brandon.
Dokmai’s Sticky Rice, owned by Nouane Taylor and her husband, Bruce, who live in Brandon, opened late last week in the former Pizza Hut space in the same retail center as Taco John’s.
Unlike operations in the mall, everything at the new restaurant is cooked to order, Taylor said. She said she hopes customers will be patient as she works to add part-time staff to help improve how quickly the food can be prepared. So far, Taylor has been doing all the cooking with the help of her cousin, she said.
Photo courtesy of Tata’s Trading Card Co.
The menu includes both Thai and Lao cuisine, along with a few common stir-fry dishes like orange chicken, and beef and broccoli. Popular dishes are pho, pad thai and the sticky rice combos, Taylor said.
While she expects many of the orders to be for takeout, the restaurant has a few tables for diners.
Taylor initially planned to be open daily but has decided to be closed on Tuesdays for prep work. For now, hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Tata’s Trading Card Co.
Taylor opened her restaurant in the mall’s food court in November 2025 and at the time said it had been her lifelong dream to own a restaurant.
“I love to cook, and I learned to cook from my mom,” said Taylor, who was born in Laos and came to the United States as a child. The restaurant is named after her mother, who died in 2024.
The mall location closed it in July as she and her husband began remodeling for their new space.
Dining and Cooking