We recently connected with Aykut (Ak) Demirhat and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Aykut (Ak), thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?
My restaurant has been opened almost five years and I have one person still working with me. His name is Alberto, when I interviewed him he was attending full time college and I met him during open house job interview. He had planned to continue is college journey by going for his masters degree. My interview process is a two stage process,the first stage is knowing the candidate and deciding to move forward with the job interview. During OJI, the candidate will work with the team. When working we observe his/her adaptability, social and communication skills. Similar situation for the candidate , if he/she would like to proceed with the job and type of environment. As a restaurant owner my most challenging part is hiring/adopting new team workers to a new job. A point and time comes where I am short staffed and the restaurant is very busy. I ask myself okay so what now? This is completely normal for restaurant owners, especially the first year of the business. I always learn from each interview candidate what I should do differently next time for better result of hiring.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Aykut Demirhat, I was born in Ankara, capital city of Turkey; And welcome to Cafe Ostro! I have started my journey with completing my college degree of Tourism and Hotel Management at the year of 1996. After I graduated from school, I started working for Hilton hotel in Izmir as a server assistant. I worked Izmir Hilton, Konya Hilton, Crown Plaza Izmir and last but not least Bodrum Yasmin Resort as a Food And Beverage Manager. Then I had an opportunity to come to United States for an internship in Atlanta Marriott Downtown in year 2006. I have had couple hotel experiences in Atlanta until year 2010, than I was offered to work for Panda Express as a General Manager. I took this opportunity at, Kennesaw. This job was a step stone for me. Big company that focused on their people and customer satisfaction. I have learned knowledge from them and the owner Andrew Cherng. After I had all hotel, resort experiences working at fast food (casual) was a big change for me. However I was driven to learn, “how to run a successful business!” After I worked 8 years at Panda Express I was ready to open my own restaurant!
In the Year 2018 we opened the first Mediterranean Restaurant in Dalton, Georgia!
Cafe Ostro is a Mediterranean Restaurant in Dalton, Georgia. Fast casual, from scratch and healthy food. What sets us apart ; I innovated mostly my food part of how my mother taught me! We can call our restaurant an innovated Mediterranean restaurant. Cafe Ostro offers variety of Vegetarian and vegan options, we also offer gluten free options (almost everything on the menu), Falafels, Hummus, Kabobs, Shawarmas, Lamb chops, Lentil soup( mother’s recipe), Grilled Mahi Mahi, Grilled Salmon, many more fresh foods and never frozen! Also we offer Turkish, Greek, Italian beer, wine and freshly made Mimosa. Baklava and Tiramisu are some treats we offer after your meal.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I built my social media by staying continuously active and interacting with our customers. I take social media very serious because it is a source of marketing for my restaurant and it is mostly free! I suggest for the new starters; post 3 times in a day using all the social platforms, create a live stories and post as a story and utilize facebook pay advertisement options.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met with my business partner when I was managing Panda Express. He was my regular customer.
Contact Info:
- Website: cafeostro.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafeostro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafeostro
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/70784010/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDgkRlmjG7Aee2Wbz0KZWzA
Image Credits
Second photo =Beef Shawarma Third photo =Chicken Shawarma Wrap Fourth photo= Grilled Salmon