As he traveled the country working as a Thai restaurant chef, Lloyd Chanachai was saving his money and collecting recipes.
Chanachai, part-owner and chef of Bann Thai on Military Road, is one of several restaurateurs who recently braved the economy and opened an eatery in the Columbus area.
The new restaurants include Bann Thai, its neighbor Possum Town Tavern, Bob-Robert”s Barbecue on Highway 45 South, LaFogata Grill and Cantina in East Columbus and Tiny Tipp”s Taste of the South near the Main Street municipal complex.
The area can also expect a few more eateries to pop up in upcoming months, including Logans Roadhouse off Highway 82, Smackers yogurt shop off Highway 45 North and a second American Deli in East Columbus.
Pitcha “Bee” Kosa, Chanachai”s fiancé and business partner, said they first went in together to open Summer Snow Cones, across the street from Lowe”s and next door to the Bann Thai lot.
Now that their Thai and sushi restaurant is open, guests have poured in faster than the small staff can cope, Kosa said.
“We just put out the sign, then they kept coming and coming and coming,” she said of their patrons.
The restaurant plans to hire two more people in the coming weeks, Chanachai said.
The restaurant, which is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 4:30 to 9 p.m., is the only Columbus eatery that solely serves Thai food, which is generally healthier with more herbs and less cholesterol, Kosa said.
Kosa and Chanachai expect to expand their small building in a month or so, adding 10 tables and 30 more seats. They also plan on eventually starting delivery service.
If all goes well, Chanachai said they may open a second Bann Thai in Starkville in about a year.
Just north of Bann Thai is the European cuisine restaurant Possum Town Tavern, opened by owner Fritz Ehrentraut in mid-December.
Ehrentraut, who has recently moved back to Columbus from Palm Beach, Fla., formerly owned 509 Tapas in downtown Columbus.
The world traveler has drawn on his personal travels to build his moderately priced menu, which includes the fashionable finger food from Spain known as tapas.
The restaurant is centered around music, said Ehrentraut, who plans to bring in a Flamenco guitar band in a week or so.
The restaurant also has an upstairs recording studio, Possum Town Records, where local artists play. The music is relayed to the dinning room for guests” enjoyment, Ehrentraut said.
“I thought it would be something new,” Ehrentraut said of the tavern, which is open from 11 a.m. until “the last guest leaves.”
Another music-centric restaurant, LaFogata Grill and Cantina, was started by Mi Hacienda owner Philipe Hernandez in the East Columbus Gateway Shopping Center.
Hernandez is putting a new twist on the traditional, family-friendly Mexican restaurant, which will have “club nights” about every other weekend.
Besides those live-music, 21-and-up events, the restaurant will be much like Mi Hacienda, down to the menu and prices.
To the west of Columbus, award-winning barbecue cook Bob Wiygul has set up shop off Highway 45 South on Artesia Road.
Bob-Robert”s Barbecue is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Wiygul, who has five employees, said his passion for cooking led him to leave his job as a salesman at Lyle Machinery to start the business with the support of his family. His mother makes all the desserts homemade.
“It”s Wiygulized, not commercialized,” he added, chuckling.
The restaurant has weekend specials on prime ribs and has received its alcohol license.
The most recent addition to the lineup is Tiny Tipp”s Taste of the South, at 1605 Main Street across the parking lot from the Columbus Municipal Complex.
The dine-in and carry-out southern-cooking restaurant, which opens today, will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Owner Brindle Gregory said she”s looking forward to having patrons come in and enjoy themselves.
“Right now,” she added of future plans, “I”m just playing it by ear, seeing what will work.”
A host of other eateries are expected to open in Columbus soon, including Smacker”s, a family-centered yogurt shop owned by Nelson and Christie Smith and John and Alise Acker.
Besides serving 10 ever-changing yogurt flavors with more than 50 toppings, as well as coffee and tea, the shop will be a way for the Smiths and Ackers to give back to the community, said local State Farm Insurance Agent John Acker.
The shop will give a percentage of its profits to charities and will be closed Sunday in accord with its owners” religious beliefs. The shop also offer free wireless internet.
“At the end of the day, we didn”t want (making a profit) to be what we”re about,” he said. “Our main focus is fun.”
Smacker”s will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Expanding hungry residents” options even further, Logan”s Roadhouse is expected to open in late 2011 in the new hotel development on 18th Avenue near Highway 82.
American Deli is also expected to open a new location off Highway 182 in East Columbus, although more information was not immediately available.
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