SPICY Thai Noodle Place on Middle Road in Puerto Rico now has a new mural on its façade, thanks to a collaboration between the late owner Bob Bracken, his daughter Jeane Bracken, and artist Veronica Arriola.
Arriola and Jeane Bracken spoke to Variety on Saturday. Arriola said it was the late Bob Bracken who asked her in 2024 to begin the project. The finished product is a painting of marine life — a mother whale and its calf, a turtle, and an octopus swimming in a sea of stars.
Arriola said Bob Bracken wanted an oceanic theme. “He had the vision for it. He said, ‘I want this huge whale on this wall.’ ”
Arriola said Bob gave her permission to express her creativity in any other way she thought appropriate, so long as it included his whale.
With an eye for collaboration, Arriola turned to her good friend, Bob’s daughter, Jeane, for more inspiration. It was Jeane who asked for the inclusion of the octopus.
She said prior to her father passing away on Jan. 7, 2025 at the age of 70, he was swimming alongside a turtle, and so a turtle was included in the mural as well.
Arriola said the baby whale was added because she enjoys including themes of maternity in her artwork.
Arriola began the project in November 2024, dedicating time each week to work on it alone. Bob provided the painting materials and hired labor to prepare the wall, Jeane said. Bob also had scaffolding erected so Arriola could work on the project safely.
Arriola said a project of this size could benefit from a projector to display an image onto the wall for the artist to trace. However, such methods weren’t available to her because Bob didn’t own the shop next to Spicy Thai, and she didn’t want to intrude on the property. Instead, Arriola traced the pictures onto the wall with paint, then ran across the street to take a photo of her work, returned to the mural, and made adjustments as necessary.
Although Bob wasn’t able to see the final product, he was able to see the whale he commissioned, because Arriola worked on it first.
“He was so proud of that whale,” Jeane said. “He would send me pictures of it and be like ‘Look at Veronica, look at how extraordinary this is!’ And he was just … so proud of what she did halfway through her project. It was sad he wasn’t able to see the final product, but I know he sees it from heaven.”
The mural is Arriola’s first large solo painting. Aside from the ceramic artwork she makes, she has also painted murals with her students in Chicago and at Saipan Southern High School.
“I’m really thankful to Bob,” Arriola said. “What a great opportunity this was to just paint something so large and make people happy. I’m glad he saw the whale before he passed.”
Bob Bracken first came to Saipan in 1987. The restaurant was started by his wife, Waree, in a much smaller location in San Antonio. Jeane said her mother is the “spearhead” of the restaurant’s operations. Through her hard work and Bob’s support, it grew in popularity, moving from San Antonio to Garapan, and eventually to Middle Road in Puerto Rico, each time to a larger location. Today, Spicy Thai Restaurant also has a bar.
“My dad was basically behind my mom,” Jeane said. “He was always supporting my mom’s dreams to have a restaurant, have a building. That’s why he did all of this for her. Right now, me and my mom are continuing his legacy.”
She said her father was always supportive.
“He has always been a huge supporter of everybody in their dreams and everything. He was always like, ‘Yes, you can do it.’ Never any doubt at all, and I think that’s what he did to Veronica. When she did this project, he was super supportive of everything that she was doing paint-wise.”
Jeane said they want to continue adding art to the property.
“We would really love to have another mural in the back of our parking lot here and in the front — just fill this place with art. Always support local artists,” she said.
The mural as seen from the third floor of the Spicy Thai building.
Jeane Bracken, left, with Veronica Arriola.
A new mural along the Spicy Thai building was originally commissioned by its late owner Bob Bracken.
