VERONA, Wis.— A new location of a Lao-Thai restaurant means a whole lot more than a spot to eat: It’s a legacy. 

The restaurant doesn’t open until 11 a.m., and it’s only 10 a.m. Still, Arya Macvilay has a lot of work to do before orders start to come in. 

That begins with making rice. It immediately smells fantastic in the kitchen. 

Arya’s parents own Rising Sons, a Lao and Thai restaurant. It’s named for him and his three brothers. 

“My husband said let’s do Rising Sons, because we have four boys,” said Arya’s mom Sinarack. She goes by Be (pronounced “Bay”). 

Be is the one who runs the show at Rising Sons, at their three locations. She was born in Laos, and came to America as a refugee. 

“I left the country when I was 13. We were in a camp for about 20 months before we arrived to the U.S. in Des Moines, Iowa,” she said. “It’s a very different culture here, growing up there and here. But we adapt, and learn what we need to do here to survive.” 

She knew to build their life in America, she had to build something for herself. She decided cooking was the best way to do that. 

As a child, her kitchen was always full in Laos.

“I just learned [to cook] from my grandmother, my aunts, my mom,” she said. 

And once she started building, her business kept growing. 

The three Rising Sons locations are on State Street, High Point Road near Middleton and a new location in Verona. The High Point restaurant has been temporarily closed during the pandemic.

On Google, Rising Sons has an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars. People rave about their curries, which is also Arya’s favorite. 

“I’m happy to serve people their food, and happy to know and hear that they like my food,” Be said, with a big smile on her face. 

Their customers include plenty of familiar faces, too. 

“I have customer who said they started out with us on State Street, and followed me to the west side, and just last weekend, she comes here and she said I'm following you here.” 

Be has spent a lot of time at the new Verona restaurant so she can train Arya. Soon, he’ll be in charge there. 

“There's big shoes to fill. There's a lot to learn,” Arya said. "My parents come from a very different background, so to see them learn and adapt to the way things are here [is] inspiring.” 

The name feels prophetic, as Arya rises to the challenge. 

“I'm very proud of where I come from, and the family that I come from,” he said. “It brings me a lot of joy.”