Today we’d like to introduce you to Sudarat Kamaraniya.
Hi Sudarat, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Sudarat Kamaraniya, and together with my husband, Jonathan Vasquez, we have worked in the restaurant industry for over 10 years. We started from the kitchen and worked our way up through different positions. Before opening our own restaurant, my husband was working as a bar manager in New York City.
For many years, our dream was always to become business owners. We spent almost a decade searching for the right location and preparing ourselves for that opportunity. Every time we found a potential place, we would create concepts, marketing plans, budgets, backup plans, and think carefully about what kind of food and experience we wanted to offer.
Eventually, we found Thai Village.
The concept behind Thai Village was never just about food. We wanted to create a warm, welcoming neighborhood Thai restaurant — a place where people feel comfortable stopping by, sharing stories, talking about life, and feeling at home.
In the beginning, it was much harder than we expected. A business plan can only guide you so far. The reality of running a restaurant is about growing through challenges, learning from your customers, solving problems every day, and staying flexible enough to survive and improve.
As a multicultural family, our backgrounds also helped shape our business. I come from a Thai background, while my husband is Hispanic, and food has always been something that connected us. Together, we built Thai Village around hospitality, family, and community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been an easy road.
When you work as an employee, you focus mainly on your position. But when you become a business owner, you carry the responsibility for everything — costs, payroll, inventory, customer satisfaction, maintenance, staffing, and the future of the business.
Before we took over Thai Village, it was an older restaurant that needed significant renovation and a completely fresh image. One of our biggest challenges was introducing a modern, welcoming atmosphere while also proving ourselves to customers as a new generation of owners with experience and passion for the industry.
Financially, we had to be very careful. We invested almost everything we had, but we also understood that success does not happen overnight. Instead of spending recklessly, we focused on building a sustainable business that could survive and grow over the next five years.
My husband left his stable job in New York City, and I stepped away from being a full-time mother to become a businesswoman. Thankfully, our daughter understands our journey and supports us in small ways whenever she can.
During the first six months, we operated almost entirely by ourselves. We handled every position in the restaurant from open to close. Even today, we continue improving our systems and processes every day, and slowly but surely, things continue to get better.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What makes our work special is the combination of authentic Thai flavors, traditional cooking techniques, and real hospitality.
I grew up surrounded by Thai, Chinese, and Lao food culture. Since I was a child, I helped my mother prepare meals, cook rice, and work in the kitchen. Cooking techniques and flavors became part of my life naturally. My mother learned from my grandmother, and she also owned her own restaurant in Thailand, so many recipes and cooking traditions have been passed down through generations.
In Thailand, delicious food is everywhere — from street food vendors to restaurants and homemade family meals. Especially my mother’s cooking. I bring those memories and flavors into every dish we serve at Thai Village. I want our customers to experience Thai food the way we truly eat it in Thailand — flavorful, comforting, and authentic.
My husband focuses more on operations, customer service, kitchen management, inventory, cost control, and organization. In the restaurant business, great food alone is not enough. Cleanliness, consistency, quality control, maintenance, and proper management are equally important.
As partners, our different strengths balance each other very well, and together we have built something that reflects both of our experiences and values.
What’s next?
Thai Village is only the beginning for us.
One of our biggest goals is to continue building our own brand, especially our homemade hot chili oil products. Our dream is not only to sell in the United States, but eventually to share our products around the world.
Our vision is to work closely with local farmers and carefully select quality ingredients to create products people can truly enjoy. To us, success is not only about making money. We want to create opportunities for others, support communities, provide quality products for customers, and give back whenever we can.
Ten years ago, we told ourselves every day that one day we would become business owners. Today, we are standing here living that dream — and now we are telling ourselves something even bigger: we want to build a global brand.
As a chef, I want every customer to enjoy delicious food and leave impressed by both the flavors and the service.
As a business owner, I want our restaurant to become well known while also creating a positive workplace where our employees feel happy and supported.
As entrepreneurs, we want to build a brand that can one day reach people all around the wor
I have always believed in thinking big — and working hard to make those dreams real.
BIo :
Sudarat Kamaraniya and Jonathan Vasquez are the owners of Thai Village, a family-owned Thai restaurant in New Jersey built on authentic flavors, warm hospitality, and community connection. With over 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry, the husband-and-wife team combines traditional Thai recipes, multicultural perspectives, and hands-on experience to create a welcoming dining experience that feels both comforting and memorable. Inspired by family traditions and a passion for great food, they continue to grow their vision beyond the restaurant through homemade chili oil products and future brand expansion, with the goal of sharing authentic Thai flavors with customers around the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thaivillagenj.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thaivillage_restaurant/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568279761534
