When Frank Kabatas first got here to the US in 1997 when he was 23, he’d solely ever seen pizza within the films.
1 / 4 of a century later, the Turkish immigrant, now 49, is the proud proprietor and operator of certainly one of Manhattan’s most beloved pizza joints — the identical one which fired him after a six-month stint as a supply driver, shortly after his arrival within the Huge Apple.
East Village Pizza, on the nook of 1st Avenue and ninth Avenue, was the primary place to rent Kabatas upon touchdown in NYC.
Not solely was it his first job, which he used to assist pay for college, nevertheless it was additionally his first slice — ever.
“I by no means had pizza earlier than,” Kabatas instructed The Put up, recalling the then-owner handing him his first-ever common slice, saying one thing like, “Should you don’t make a great [cheese] slice… you’re not profitable.”
And success didn’t come straightforward for the would-be mogul.
Being on the backside of the totem pole meant consuming his share of grime — together with taking the blame for a mistake within the kitchen, which wound up getting him fired.
“After I acquired fired, I nonetheless needed to work. I wanted to work to go to high school, and I had a objective to realize,” Kabatas stated. Preserving issues in perspective helped, he recounted.
“I used to be one of many luckiest guys — I ended up in the US,” he stated.
Luckily, the proprietor of Ben’s Pizzeria on MacDougal Avenue was seeking to rent, however together with his restricted English on the time, Kabatas didn’t perceive he was being provided a job.
Undeterred, the proprietor took him by the arm, put him behind the counter and handed him an apron.
The Greenwich Village pizzeria was the place the budding pie-san realized learn how to make pizza and sauce.
For the 12 months and a half that he labored there, he spent 12 hours a day for six or seven days every week on the job, adopted by 5 hours of evening college.
However after two years of intense, on-the-job coaching, he realized that his information was nonetheless too restricted.
“I knew learn how to make actually good pizza, however I didn’t know learn how to promote … I needed to learn to promote,” he stated.
Kabatas in the end snagged a job at Domino’s, the place it’s all about shifting a set checklist of product, he defined — that’s the place he actually started to study the enterprise facet of issues.
“It was in all probability the very best determination I ever made, working with them,” he stated, touting the Michigan-based chain as having a number of the greatest advertising on this planet.
Kabatas labored at Domino’s till 2003 — after which he heard that East Village Pizza was on the market. There wasn’t something inherently distinctive or particular in regards to the place, he stated, however the thought of coming full circle was interesting.
“I talked to my brother and I used to be like, we labored arduous, we made some cash, ought to we simply go speak to the man?” he remembered. “Perhaps we might purchase the shop.”
Months later, he was the proud proprietor of the slice joint.
“It was only a common pizzeria, nevertheless it was a chance for me to realize my objective. I knew that after I work arduous, I might get one thing again,” he stated.
After he took over, Kabatas modified every little thing and made it his personal — the recipes, the ovens, the best way they made pizza — making it “the best way [he] wished it to be.”
“It’s not that he didn’t make good pizza, however I wished to place the issues that I realized into the eagerness that I really can work every single day within the kitchen,” he defined.
To today, he’s nonetheless hands-on.
“I nonetheless make pizza. I nonetheless mess around with my dough to determine if I could make something higher,” he stated.
And he has — the signature Margherita Pizza, Double Stacked Pizzas and Tacky Garlic Knots are a success with Kabatas’ 1.7 million followers on Instagram, the place he realized learn how to develop an viewers himself.
Extra importantly, he’s constructed up a loyal native buyer base who will generally cease by simply to see him, and can even name his cell to see if he’ll be there once they go.
And although Kabatas purchased the place he was as soon as fired from, he made it clear that this was a objective to realize for himself — not revenge.
“I don’t do revenge in my life as a result of I do know life is simply too quick, and I had a objective to realize. It simply was a chance for me, and it was superb,” he stated.
“I work greater than I ever did earlier than, nevertheless it’s nice to personal your personal pizzeria, to make your personal choices. I make errors, however I study from my errors.”