Akshat Sethi says his restaurants, Thai Chili 2go, are making a difference in Arizona’s food and beverage industry. The eateries are accomplishing his exact goal: bringing new flavors to the Grand Canyon State.
Recently, Thai Chili 2go added customizable stir-fry options, which he said reflect guest demand and the company’s commitment to fresh, made-to-order Thai food. Some of the sauces were used during the restaurant’s early years.
“We were getting a lot of feedback from our guests that they love these sauces,” Sethi said. “They were originally our stir fry, so we thought, OK, let’s find a good way to bring them back on the menu after 3 p.m.”
Those sauces — once limited to the brand’s $7 lunch rice bowls — now anchor four new stir‑fry selections available from 3 p.m. to close Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends. Each dish begins with fresh vegetables wok‑fired in one of Thai Chili 2go’s signature sauces, served with rice and customizable with protein and add‑ons.
The move gives guests more freedom, Sethi said, especially those who want to explore beyond the fixed vegetable mix in the lunch bowls.
“It kind of opens up the horizon for the guest,” he said. “Like, ‘Hey, I don’t want to be put in this rice bowl with just these specific veggies. I want to explore more.’”
The new lineup includes:
Pad prig pao: bell pepper, yellow onion and carrots with a sweet, roasted flavor and a hint of spice.
Thai basil: bell pepper, yellow onion, basil and jalapeño with a savory, slightly sweet flavor and a kick.
Sweet and sour: yellow onion, pineapple and tomato with a fresh, tangy and fruity flavor.
King sauce: zucchini, bell pepper and carrots with a bold, aromatic and spicy flavor.
Each starts at $10. “There is no food assembling happening here,” he said. “Your food is being cooked from scratch every single order.”
A full-service Thai kitchen inside a QSR body
Sethi described Thai Chili 2go as “a full‑service Thai kitchen living inside a QSR [quick-service restaurant] body,” a line that captures the brand’s identity. The company manufactures its own to‑go containers, imports ingredients directly, and produces all sauces at its commissary. He said the goal is uniformity to ensure every store delivers the same flavor profile.
“We control the sauce, we control the flavor,” he said. “Then it’s all on the training.”
Training, in fact, is one of the company’s biggest investments. Sethi said it can be challenging to maintain consistency across 20 restaurants, especially as the brand expands into new markets. But he also sees opportunity in the younger workforce that has embraced the wok.
“A lot of younger people working now take so much pride in what they do,” he said. “It’s exciting to see young kids on the woks.”
He teaches his team a three‑step philosophy: the ask, the why behind the ask, and the how. Skip the why, he said, and compliance falls apart.
“Simple is hard, complex is easy,” he added. “We constantly keep on making this simple to execute, simple to operate, but no compromise on the core.”
Rapid expansion across Arizona
The newest Thai Chili 2go opened in Buckeye, and Sethi calls it “one of our strongest openings so far.”
“Buckeye kind of unlocks a whole different food desert for us,” he said. “Proud to be a part of that community.”
Another Buckeye location is slated for late fall, followed by a Surprise store at 303 and Cactus. More openings are planned for early next year, and the team is scouting additional sites — including a Flagstaff location near NAU.
Sethi said stores in Utah and Nevada are under consideration. But he insists they’ll move deliberately.
“We’ll do it the right way,” he said. “We don’t want to do it in a haste.”
Thai Chili 2go remains fully corporate‑owned, which allows Sethi to maintain tight control over quality, supply chain and training. He sees the brand as a long‑term legacy, one that creates opportunities for employees to grow into leadership roles.
“One of the biggest reasons we do what we do is to employ,” he said. “We’re creating a system where we see future owners — GM partners, operating partners. Something will come out of this.”
Even with rapid expansion, Sethi said the menu has never suffered from fatigue. “We’ve never heard a single guest ask, ‘When are you going to get something new?’” he said. “But staying up with the times, we have to constantly try new things.”
