Planes, Trains & Heroes: A Story of Warner Robins and the Robins Region

As workers buzz about finalizing preparations
for the dinner crowd, customers begin to file
into Sushi Thai Restaurant in Warner Robins.
Owner Gigi Villareal-Tebbe looks around and
smiles, her passion for her restaurant and
customers evident.
She points to a young couple with a fouryear-old
in tow. That couple, she says, has been
coming here since they started dating. The child
even has her own regular order now, a
California roll or octopus sashimi.
At the hi-top table, several college students
are celebrating the start of their senior year; and
at the corner booth, two businessmen are
discussing business. At the sushi bar, a group
clad in fatigues appear at home as they sip on
cocktails and enjoy what they describe as “the
best sushi in Middle Georgia.” Gigi excuses
herself to give a big hug to one of the soldiers
who has just returned from Iraq.
And then, there are the newlyweds who
requested to be seated in the loft, the most
romantic spot in the restaurant; the very place,
in fact, he had popped the question one year
ago today.
“People ask me why I love this place. This is
why,” says Gigi, herself a regular at the restaurant
from the time it opened in 2003 until she
purchased it in 2006.
A former California and Manila, Philippines
resident and flight attendant who traveled the
globe for almost twenty years, Gigi says that she
chose Warner Robins after visiting a relative.
She was looking for someplace with “more trees,
less traffic and plenty of friendly people” and
Warner Robins fit the bill.
Having given up flying to raise her family,
Gigi put her pre-med degree to work, serving
many years as an Administrator for a large
Middle Georgia medical practice. She continued
working that job by day and the restaurant by
night until the end of 2015 when she decided to
focus solely on the restaurant. Growing up, her
children enjoyed working beside her at the
restaurant and still lend a helping hand when
she needs it. Now a lawyer, her eldest helps
her out with legal issues, and the second is an
in-demand graphic artist who helps her with
her marketing and menu designs. Her son,
Gianni, helps her run the family business and
currently serves as the main sushi chef alongside
Sushi Thai’s executive chef Jason Belanio and a
full team of highly-skilled and experienced
chefs preparing authentic Thai and Japanese
cuisine daily.
Fully renovated in 2016 and designed by
Gigi to have a “more open, warm and inviting
atmosphere,” Sushi Thai Restaurant became the
“talk of the town” after it re-opened. It seats
approximately 200 people and features two
function rooms for private and business
functions complete with HDMI flat screen
TVs. It is located at 2624 Watson Boulevard,
Unit D, in Warner Robins and is repeatedly
voted “Best of the Best” by readers of the
Macon Telegraph year after year. For more
information, please visit www.sushithaiwr.com
or call 478- 923-0898.
SUSHI THAI
RESTAURANT
Sushi Thai Restaurant is located
2624 Watson Boulevard, Unit D, in
Warner Robins.
Sharing the Heritage ✦ 115