Thai food fanatics can stop mourning the loss of Amarin Thai Cuisine. Its employees — who wanted to save everyone's jobs — on Tuesday reopened the restaurant at 12th and I streets as Bangkok@12. The restaurant is named for its location on 12th Street. The space stood empty for three months. But on Monday, the soft sounds of the Thai language floated between the dining room and the kitchen once more while Nancy Phupong and her friend Pam Intarakul took orders, talked with cooks and served food to practice for the grand opening. "All the employees that used to work here are still here," said 43-year-old Phupong, who once managed Amarin. (They're) "More like friends because we've known eac

Amarin Thai Cuisine, one of Sacramento's earliest Thai restaurants, has gone dark after the owners closed last week. On Jan. 19, the family-run restaurant shut its doors at the corner of I and 12th streets, just a few blocks from government buildings housing thousands of state, city, county and federal employees. Downtown workers made up the bulk of Amarin's customers during weekday lunches. "That was our favorite," said downtown resident Gloria Burt, an art show curator for Sacramento's Central Library. "The food was really, really good. We're unhappy it's gone." Like many other businesses in the central city, Amarin was hurt by the recession and state employee furloughs. But a loss of