“It’s perfect,” Whitted said. “That location. The community has grown very fast.”

Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

She’s still in the process of creating a menu, but customers can expect Thai, sushi and American-Thai fusion with meats like steak and lobster used in Thai food. The restaurant will have a full bar. It’s also located in a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA).

Thai Village will be Whitted’s largest restaurant with 3,696-square-feet. She wants to create a family friendly, community atmosphere that transports customers into a cozy village setting.

Whitted hopes to open the new restaurant at the end of August.

She also has plans to open Thai Village on Wheels with chef Park Kaewkheaw and manager Sai Yodkad from Thai Table. They are planning to have a rotating menu of handheld Thai food. If the food truck passes inspection on Tuesday, they will be up and running, Whitted said.

Her last day at Thai Table will be Sunday. The new owners are from Indiana and have plans to keep the name of the restaurant, but make it their own. Whitted opened Thai Table at 5841 Far Hills Ave. in 2021 when she was ready to take on the challenge of owning a second restaurant.

Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

Whitted, who is originally from Thailand, came to the United States in 2008 to study culinary at Cincinnati State College. She was enrolled in a work and travel program, but after meeting people in Cincinnati she decided to stay there. She graduated in 2012 and started working for her friend, chef Toon Yongkanaysin, at Bangkok St. This is where she learned the front and back of house. Yongkanaysin had known the previous owners of Thai Kitchen and in 2017 when they were ready to sell, she pushed Whitted to buy it.

Overtime, Whitted had made changes throughout the restaurant and in 2023 she relocated from 8971 Kingsridge Drive in Miami Twp. to a larger space at 2335 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Miami Twp. One month after, she opened Hello Thai at 3301 Dayton Xenia Road in Beavercreek with sushi chef Saard “Art” Sabsombat from Thai Table.

She most recently opened Honey Toast, a breakfast and brunch restaurant, at 130 N. Broad St. in Fairborn with Pram Sutheetananon and Lita Techalertmanee, the sushi chef and manager from Thai Kitchen.

Whitted’s typically day starts by waking up at 4 a.m. to work at Honey Toast from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. She says she tries to take a nap before going to work at Thai Table from 4:30 p.m. to close.

Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

When asked how she does it, Whitted said, “I feel like I have a good team and I just want to see everyone grow.”

She said she couldn’t do it without Pom Amornvattanavong, who supports her at each restaurant, and her husband, Kiel, who does marketing and graphic design for the restaurants.

“She’s very ambitious and determined,” Kiel said. “She’s modest, but I think she’s an amazing chef and can pretty much handle anything that’s thrown at her.”

Whitted has taken the skills Yongkanaysin taught her a decade ago and is paying it forward by sharing those skills with her employees and reinvesting in them. She says her favorite part of owning restaurants in the Dayton area is seeing her customers enjoy her food and seeing the same people come back.

MORE DETAILS

If you haven’t made it to Honey Toast, the restaurant has added a croffle sandwich to its menu and now has an online waitlist.

Thai Village will be located at 5201 Cornerstone N. Blvd.

Those who have purchased gift cards for Thai Table can now use them at Whitted’s other Thai restaurants — Thai Kitchen or Hello Thai.