I’m a regular customer at this Modesto Thai restaurant. It now has a 2nd location
Thaiburi is the solution to almost all of my food problems. Nothing sounds good to eat? Thaiburi is always good. Craving something sweet and spicy? Thaiburi has it.
I’ve been regularly going to the Pelandale Plaza restaurant since it opened in late 2024. Many of my work get-togethers, date nights and solo lunches have happened there.
Then why haven’t I featured it, you may ask? The short answer is that I was unable to reach the owners when they first opened (understandably, because they were the only two people running operations in the beginning). But I never missed an opportunity to share how much I love Thaiburi’s food, whether by recommending it to everyone I know or highlighting it in a story featuring Modesto’s must-try dishes.
My luck has changed. When I saw that Robbie Smiley opened a second Thaiburi location in Turlock, I reached out again.
He told me that building a solid team at his Modesto restaurant is the reason he was able to open one in Turlock.
Thailand natives now have two restaurants in Stanislaus County
Smiley told me that he and his wife are from Thailand. Before they were married, he moved to New York to focus on a cuilnary career and his wife moved to London to finish her master’s degree while working in marketing and restaurant management.
After they wed, they moved to California.
“As we visited different cities, we felt that Modesto was the right place for us,” Smiley said. “It had a strong community and it felt like somewhere we could grow both personally and as a business.”
He said choosing Modesto as the place to open Thaburi and start a family “has been one of the best decisions we’ve made.”
When the couple first opened their restaurant, Smiley was the one cooking and his wife was the server. He said he often was asked if he would open a restauant closer to the customers who traveled to dine at his place.
“I’m very grateful to our team for trusting us and growing with us,” Smiley said. “That’s really the reason we were able to open our second location in Turlock.”
Thaiburi, at 811 W. Hawkeye Ave. in Turlock, is open Wednesday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant at 3900 Pelandale Ave., Suite 155, in Modesto is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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