You won’t find hibachi here. Popular Japanese eatery opens in Warner Robins

A new fast casual restaurant in Warner Robins offers authentic Japanese cuisine that’s a departure from hibachi, teriyaki and sushi.

At Tenmii Japanese Eatery, guests will find dishes such as rice bowls that people enjoy on the streets of Japan that start with a cup, adding rice, then meat, and next the sauce. But these come with a more sophisticated presentation, said Kusmayadi “Han” Djunaidi, who owns and operates the new spot with his wife, Vita Tjhin.

Other dishes include udon noodle or ramen noodle bowls; sando, which is a Japanese sandwich; appetizers such as gyoza, Japanese dumplings; vegetable harumaki, which are vegetable spring rolls; and dofu fural, bite sized tofu.

The beginnings of Tenmii

The Warner Robins couple opened their first Tenmii Japanese Eatery at 1625 Bass Road, Suite 330, in Macon in January 2023. The new Tenmii Japanese Eatery, which opened Thursday at 1012 Ga. 96, Suite 200, in Warner Robins, is their second location.

Their financial partner, Thresia Wiguna, spent a year and a half researching and developing the recipes, Djunaidi said. She opened Tenya Japanese Eatery at 2064 North Decatur Road in Decatur in September 2020.

Tenya Japanese Eatery and Tenmii Japanese Eatery are sister restaurants.

Djunaidi, who has been in the restaurant business for nearly 20 years, says Wiguna and her husband handle research and some other aspects, while Djunaidi and his wife operate the businesses in Macon and Warner Robins.

“And then they have their own business in Atlanta, Tenya Japanese Eatery, and we are operating as Tenmii Japanese Eatery,” Djunaidi said of his family’s connections to Wiguna and her family. “So basically, you know, we are the same group, and everything else. We’re just more on the operating side, and they’re more on like developing and financials.”

What to try first

For those new to Japanese cuisine, Djunaidi suggested trying the chicken donburi — which also is the restaurant’s most popular dish.

Djunaidi described the dish as a sweet and savory grilled chicken bowl that comes with Japanese rice, Japanese slaw, cucumber pickles and red pickles. The dish is topped with gingeryaki sauce with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and green onions.

Another good starter dish is the Tenmii pork chashu bowl, a tender pork belly that’s slow braised for 36 hours and topped with gingeryaki sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onions. It comes with Japanese rice, Japanese slaw, cucumber pickles and red pickles.

Karamiso udon is among the new additions to the menu. It’s a bowl of udon noodle in miso broth with spicy and not spicy options, and a choice of protein.

Don’t forget the vegetable spring rolls served with sweet chili dipping sauce.

Imported Japanese candy, drinks and more

The restaurant also offers a variety of imported Japanese candy and snacks, including various Pocky biscuit sticks, Hello Kitty flavored marshmallows, Botan rice candy, Koala’s March creme filled cookies, Sakeru gummy candy, Amanoya Himemaru rice crackers and more.

In addition, the restaurant serves a variety of imported Japanese drinks, including multiple flavors of the sparkling water, Ramune, which is sealed with a glass marble. Other choices include Kimino sparkling and Calpico drinks, Ocha green tea, and more.

Once the restaurant obtains its liquor license, imported beer and sake also will be available.

All in the name

The restaurant’s name, Tenmii, comes from the Japanese word Tenmei, which means to bring happiness to others.

“Every guest that comes to our store … we want to share happiness to them as well … with the foods that we make, with the service that we give them,” Djunaidi said.

For the first six to eight months, Djunaidi and his wife expect to be at the Warner Robins location to get it off and running, while managers he’s trained from the bottom up will oversee the Macon location.

The new restaurant can seat 49 people inside, with Djunaidi planning to add fenced patio seating in front of the establishment.

More new restaurants coming

The restaurant is in a new plaza anchored by a new Brown’s Eye Center and owned by three of the team of eye doctors who practice there. They also own the Brown’s Eye Center on Russell Parkway.

Additional new restaurants coming to the plaza include DosBros Fresh Mexican Grill, Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom and Buffalo Wild Wings Go. Decadent Dessert Bar, which moved from its prior location on Ga. 96, opened in its new spot in the plaza in early April. Other tenants include Luxe Nail Spa and coming soon, Vita-Fuse

Tenmii Japanese Eatery, which offers catering and third-party delivery, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The number is 478-599-9988.