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Ragina Westbrook, the woman known to many Blount County residents as the “Gina” in Gina’s Country Kitchen, is back in town and running her restaurant after serving ten months in a Texas prison.

Last June, Blount County Sheriff’s Deputies discovered that Westbrook was really Sandra Jean Wooten, and she had been wanted in Texas for 13 years for a parole violation. She was arrested on June 14 and later extradited to Texas, where she served the remainder of her ten-month sentence at the Gatesville Women’s Prison near Waco, Texas.

Last year, Westbrook told The Daily Times that “Ragina Westbrook” was the name of an infant she found listed in an obituary in Clarksville, Texas. She said she got a copy of the infant’s death certificate, and used that information to have a birth certificate made for herself. She said she was never able to obtain another Social Security number, but was able to use the birth certificate to obtain a drivers license.

Westbrook met a man by the name of James Eden in Texas, moved to Blount County in 1999 and had two children. She and Eden opened Gina’s Country Kitchen at the intersection of U.S. 411 South and Calderwood Highway.

Today, the sign in front of the restaurant says, “Gina’s Back.” She told The Daily Times she still plans to use the Westbrook name.

“I spent the past ten months on my knees praying,” Westbrook said. “I got to know God and I came back a better person.

“I turned my back on God for 30 years — but this turned my life around.”

Westbrook said she was only able to see her sons once while she was in prison. Her boys, ages 10 and 12, made the 1,100-mile trip for eight hours of visitation with their mother.

“I spent 14 years looking over my shoulder,” Westbrook said. “I could have kept it up forever — but it’s a relief that it’s over.

“I appreciate the support of this community. There are people here who love me and I love them.

“I’m sorry for the deceit and deception.”

Westbrook said the 13-year-old parole violation was for leaving Texas while she was on probation for credit card fraud. A public information officer for the Texas Department of Corrections said Westbrook had been in their custody from July 16, 2007 until March 5, 2008 and that she was currently in the process of having her parole transferred from Texas to Tennessee.

Now Westbrook says she is focused on getting her restaurant back in order. She said the restaurant employees kept the business going in her absence, but she has some catching up to do.

“I still have the best burgers in town,” Westbrook said. “We won The Daily Times’ ‘Best Burger in Blount County’ award two years in a row.

“I was actually scheduled to get the award the day I was arrested.

“People should give us a try — you can still afford one of my burgers and have money left for gas.”