Art Show | Tucson Citizen | Best of Tucson | Best Thai in Tucson | Restaurateur-Activist | Vila Thai | Asian Influence

Vila Jarrell, co-owner of Vila Thai Cuisine, chats with customers Selin Kalay- cioglu, left, and Ben Dyhr. Jarrell's partner is her sister, Joy Phengsavanh.

Two months ago, sisters Vila Jarrell and Joy Phengsavanh embarked on an adventure that was years in the making.

Nestled among Main Gate Square's little restaurant row sits Vila Thai Cuisine, the duo's first joint business venture.

On and off for seven years, Jarrell had traveled the Southwest scouting cities, including Scottsdale, before discovering Tucson on a brief visit in early January 2006.

After her encounter, the Seattle native returned home and, alongside Phengsavanh, set about bringing their plan for Vila Thai Cuisine to fruition.

"Tucson is beautiful. It's a healing city," Jarrell said. "For us, this restaurant is about passion and opportunity."

These days, she's racking up plenty of frequent-flier miles due to regular commutes back and forth to Washington, where husband, Ryan, still lives and maintains the couple's financial-services business.

In addition to running the restaurant, Jarrell is the regional director of the Professional Women of Color Network Tucson chapter, a representative of New York Life Insurance Co. in Tucson, and the president of the Vila Art Foundation.

Though she's slight in stature, Jarrell is an energetic powerhouse who is not easily dismissed, and when the subject is near and dear to her, she's virtually unstoppable. Of those subjects, the topic of women's empowerment is especially close.

As a woman, "you have to understand your own voice of authority," she said. "Growing up, you will be stampeded by cultural norms."

Having been raised in a traditional Thai household, Jarrell recalled from her own experience the challenges that came from trying to break the mold.

"Once we've been educated, we've been Westernized. It's harder for us to assimilate back into traditional Thai culture," she said, later stressing: "I respect tradition. As women, though, we allow ourselves to be oppressed."

With her involvement in organizations such as the Professional Women of Color, Jarrell said she is able to help other women find their own voices of authority.

"There's no stopping me. I'm on a mission," she said with a laugh.

Comparatively, Phengsavanh makes up for her acknowledged shyness with the expressiveness of her culinary creations. As a chef in Seattle, she owned and operated about 10 Thai restaurants, and she continues the tradition as a chef at Vila Thai.

"Cooking is like an art," she said, stressing the importance of both the physical appearance of the dish as well as its taste.

"I love eating traditional Thai cooking," Phengsavanh said — adding, with a wide smile, "But I like to do 'Joy' cooking."

Since celebrating Vila Thai's grand opening on Dec. 6., the sisters have developed the restaurant, with its outdoor seating and Monday poetry nights, into a casual get-together spot for local community groups and patrons.

Employee biographies are posted at www.vilathai.com/staff.html to further the familial atmosphere encouraged by the duo.

Among Vila Thai's fans are Barry Infuso, a lead faculty member of the culinary arts program at Pima Community College and a food writer for Tucson Lifestyle magazine.

"Jarrell just does a lot of things that are very exciting," Infuso said. "That enthusiasm is very contagious."

Of the business, "she has a very savvy sense about the failures and successes they've had as restaurateurs," he added. With Vila Thai Cuisine, "they were very focused. They know what they wanted to do and where they wanted to be."

With all her work ahead of her, Jarrell hasn't lost sight of her other dreams, including a retreat for experienced and emerging artists of all fields.

"There are so many great ideas, and so few that are ever executed. That's mostly out of fear," she said. But "I believe in divine intervention and a greater calling. That's what brought me here."

by Tiana Velez
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