The Sacred Table: Thai Food, Hindu Gods, and Restaurant Religion in North America

This paper presents testimonies from Thai-American restaurateurs whose businesses function not only as sites of commerce but also as spaces where distinctive modes of engagement with Hindu deities emerge. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among Thai communities in the northeastern US, the study examines the growing presence of Hindu deities such as Ganesha and Krishna in restaurant interiors. These visual arrangements reflect recent religious developments in Thailand, where Hindu gods have gained prominence as patrons of entrepreneurial success, and reveal how Thai migrants carry these practices into North America. By examining how restaurant art and décor mediate encounters with Hindu imagery, the paper argues that Thai Buddhist restaurateurs emerge as unexpected stewards of Hindu devotion in North America. In doing so, the study highlights how migration, religious materiality, and interreligious borrowing invite us to reconsider familiar narratives about Asian American religion while helping decenter India in the study of global Hinduism.