Khop Jai Der

Khop Jai Der Lao & Vietnam is a tiny, family-owned-and-operated Laotian and Vietnamese restaurant on West 119th Street in Overland Park, run entirely by owner Mimi Queency alongside her mother, sister, and brother. The name “Khop Jai Der” means “thank you” in Lao, and the kitchen leans on family recipes to introduce Laotian cooking to a metro that rarely sees it.

Description

Khop Jai Der Lao & Vietnam is an unassuming, small-footprint restaurant serving aromatic Laotian and Vietnamese dishes from family recipes.¹ The menu spans Lao staples and Vietnamese plates — grilled and skewered meats, noodle dishes, salads, soups, and rice plates — with vegetarian and gluten-free accommodations available.² Reviewers single it out as a hidden gem, calling it “an unassuming place with the absolute best Laos in Vietnamese food.”² Signature items include Lao authentic sausage, Moo Ping (grilled skewered pork), and Mee Kha Tii noodle (rice noodles in red-curry coconut sauce), alongside boba, Thai tea, and mango sticky-rice ice cream.¹

Ownership and history

The restaurant is co-owned and operated by Mimi Queency together with her mother, sister, and brother; the family runs it with no outside employees, tasting every order before it goes out and treating customers like family.¹ Queency had lived in the Kansas City area for roughly eight years and previously worked in a corporate setting before leaving it to open the restaurant, motivated by a desire to honor her home country’s culinary traditions and to put Laos on the map for American diners — “Our country is really small. People don’t know… ‘Where is Laos?’”¹ The business is described on its own site as a “family-owned business using family-based recipes.”³ Multiple sources place its founding in 2023.⁴ — exact opening month not yet confirmed from a primary source.

Links

• Official site: https://www.khopjaiderop.com/
• Visit Overland Park directory: https://www.visitoverlandpark.com/directory/khop-jai-der/

Sources

Disputes

None recorded.

Footnotes

1. The Pitch — “‘Right now, everything is possible’: Family-owned Khop Jai Der redefines hospitality.” https://www.thepitchkc.com/right-now-everything-is-possible-family-owned-khop-jai-der-redefines-hospitality/ — asserts: owner Mimi Queency; family operation (mother, sister, brother; no other employees); Laotian + Vietnamese cuisine; owner’s ~8 years in KC and corporate-to-restaurant background; mission to introduce Laotian food; signature dishes; hospitality philosophy. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Yelp — “Khop Jai Der Lao & Vietnam,” Updated May 2026, 176 Photos & 76 Reviews, 11920 West 119th St, Overland Park, KS. https://www.yelp.com/biz/khop-jai-der-lao-and-vietnam-overland-park — asserts: currently operating (May 2026 update + active review volume); Asian fusion / Lao-Vietnamese; reviewer praise; address. ↩ ↩²

3. Khop Jai Der Lao & Vietnam — official website. https://www.khopjaiderop.com/ — asserts: exact name; address 11920 W 119th St, Overland Park, KS 66213; “family-owned business using family-based recipes”; cuisine categories; current hours; online ordering. ↩

4. Search-aggregated listings (Visit Overland Park / TravelKS / directory data). https://www.visitoverlandpark.com/directory/khop-jai-der/ — asserts: establishment year 2023. Single-source year; flagged for primary-source confirmation. ↩