The rhythm of jazz and the aroma of Thai cuisine come together at Twin Lotus Thai, a Sacramento restaurant co-owned by Sacramento State jazz professor Joe Gilman and his wife, Kai. Gilman, who has taught jazz for over four decades, is passionate about sharing his love for music with students. “I enjoy sharing experiences about music, and I guess I would say that I enjoy sitting down with a student or sitting down with a group of students and talking about a subject and seeing lights go on,” Gilman said. When the semester ends, Gilman trades his role as a professor for that of a waiter at Twin Lotus Thai, located in a shopping center on Folsom Boulevard. The restaurant has been open since 2022. Kai’s journey to Sacramento began after surviving the devastating 2004 tsunami that struck Thailand’s coast, killing nearly 8,000 people. “Everything was destroyed,” Kai said. “Dead bodies, dead, yup, and smell it.” She described the aftermath as shocking and said she couldn’t sleep for months. Her home and two businesses were destroyed, leaving her to rebuild her life. “It was very, very sad,” she said.Amid this dark time, she met Joe. “He opened the door, and I was like, ‘oh, this man is really handsome, looks like a god,’” Kai said. “I asked him to marry me at the airport, and he told me we’d date for a year. I said, no, I give you one week. If you say yes, you come back to Thailand, and we’ll be married. If not, forget it. Three days later, he said yes.” The couple has been married for 21 years and took another leap of faith four years ago by opening Twin Lotus Thai.“It would never have been a thought of mine to open a restaurant. I’m not built for that. I was never trained for it,” Joe said. Business was slow at first, but Joe had an idea to combine Kai’s passion for Thai food with his love of music. “I decided one night that I was going to get a vocalist and get my keyboard and throw it over in the corner and tell people we were going to have a singer Saturday night,” Joe said. The response was overwhelming. “Between her and I, we had 80 people who said they were going to come, and we can only fit about 45 people in the restaurant,” Joe said. “We had to learn extremely quickly how we were going to make something like this work.” Now, Twin Lotus Thai has become a hub for jazz lovers in Sacramento, hosting live music at least three nights a week. “It’s kind of hidden. That’s what makes it special. It’s like a hidden gem in Sacramento,” one patron said. The restaurant has become a sought-after venue, with most shows selling out weeks in advance. “It’s a dinner show. You’re coming in, you’re having dinner or watching the show at the same time, and then you have about a 90-minute experience or so, and then we flip the house and get the next group in,” Joe said. Despite her husband’s passion for jazz, Kai admits she doesn’t understand the music. “I don’t understand music,” she laughed. “I don’t understand jazz.” But she loves watching Joe perform. “Oh, he’s very charming man,” she added. “I’m a very lucky woman.”Together, Joe and Kai have created a unique blend of Thai food and jazz, bringing two worlds together in perfect harmony. “My thing is I just want them, to the best of our ability, when people come in, they have a good experience, and they want to come back,” Joe said.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel.
The rhythm of jazz and the aroma of Thai cuisine come together at Twin Lotus Thai, a Sacramento restaurant co-owned by Sacramento State jazz professor Joe Gilman and his wife, Kai.
Gilman, who has taught jazz for over four decades, is passionate about sharing his love for music with students.
“I enjoy sharing experiences about music, and I guess I would say that I enjoy sitting down with a student or sitting down with a group of students and talking about a subject and seeing lights go on,” Gilman said.
When the semester ends, Gilman trades his role as a professor for that of a waiter at Twin Lotus Thai, located in a shopping center on Folsom Boulevard. The restaurant has been open since 2022.
Kai’s journey to Sacramento began after surviving the devastating 2004 tsunami that struck Thailand’s coast, killing nearly 8,000 people.
“Everything was destroyed,” Kai said. “Dead bodies, dead, yup, and smell it.”
She described the aftermath as shocking and said she couldn’t sleep for months. Her home and two businesses were destroyed, leaving her to rebuild her life.
“It was very, very sad,” she said.
Amid this dark time, she met Joe.
“He opened the door, and I was like, ‘oh, this man is really handsome, [he] looks like a god,’” Kai said. “I asked him to marry me at the airport, and he told me we’d date for a year. I said, no, I give you one week. If you say yes, you come back to Thailand, and we’ll be married. If not, forget it. Three days later, he said yes.”
The couple has been married for 21 years and took another leap of faith four years ago by opening Twin Lotus Thai.
“It would never have been a thought of mine to open a restaurant. I’m not built for that. I was never trained for it,” Joe said.
Business was slow at first, but Joe had an idea to combine Kai’s passion for Thai food with his love of music.
“I decided one night that I was going to get a vocalist and get my keyboard and throw it over in the corner and tell people we were going to have a singer Saturday night,” Joe said.
The response was overwhelming.
“Between her and I, we had 80 people who said they were going to come, and we can only fit about 45 people in the restaurant,” Joe said. “We had to learn extremely quickly how we were going to make something like this work.”
Now, Twin Lotus Thai has become a hub for jazz lovers in Sacramento, hosting live music at least three nights a week.
“It’s kind of hidden. That’s what makes it special. It’s like a hidden gem in Sacramento,” one patron said.
The restaurant has become a sought-after venue, with most shows selling out weeks in advance.
“It’s a dinner show. You’re coming in, you’re having dinner or watching the show at the same time, and then you have about a 90-minute experience or so, and then we flip the house and get the next group in,” Joe said.
Despite her husband’s passion for jazz, Kai admits she doesn’t understand the music.
“I don’t understand music,” she laughed. “I don’t understand jazz.”
But she loves watching Joe perform.
“Oh, he’s very charming man,” she added. “I’m a very lucky woman.”
Together, Joe and Kai have created a unique blend of Thai food and jazz, bringing two worlds together in perfect harmony.
“My thing is I just want them, to the best of our ability, when people come in, they have a good experience, and they want to come back,” Joe said.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel.