An Interview With Martita Mestey
You are alone. Before you open your business, all your friends and family are going to share their suggestions with you, even though most of these people have no experience running a business. Of course, you could choose to listen to their advice, even though I would not. It’s important to remember you, and only you, have to be fully ready when you’re opening your own restaurant.
As a part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Restaurateur”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Frank Kabatas.
Frank Kabatas is Owner and Operator of East Village Pizza, the popular New York-based pizzeria where tradition meets innovation. At East Village Pizza, Frank went from being a delivery driver in 1997, being fired after just six months, to later becoming the pizzeria’s owner and operator in 2003– showcasing his passion for the craft and his embodiment of the power of hard work and determination. Now with almost three decades of experience in the industry, Frank has established East Village Pizza’s status as a beloved cornerstone of NYC’s iconic pizza culture and a landmark food destination. Frank’s journey in the pizza industry has been defined by his dedication and passion for the craft, with his hands-on approach to every aspect of the business — from making his own ingredients to personally overseeing each pizza — ensuring that quality is never compromised. His commitment to innovation and quality shines through in every pizza he creates, as he continuously experiments with flavors and techniques, striving to deliver the best possible product to his customers. Frank believes in sourcing the freshest high-quality ingredients and crafting unique, innovative menu offerings, ensuring that each dish delivers on flavor, freshness, and value. His leadership and dedication continue to make East Village Pizza a cherished destination celebrated for its quality and taste. Beyond his professional endeavors, Frank values spending quality time with his family and loved ones. Although he enjoys his free time, Frank truly believes he is living the dream daily through his work with East Village Pizza.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restaurateur?
Before I came to the United States from Turkey in 1997, I knew nothing about pizza–I hadn’t ever tried it before, and nobody in my family had a pizzeria or a bakery. I did know, however, that when I came to the U.S., I had to work to support myself, and was desperately searching for a job. Fortunately, I ended up getting hired to work at East Village Pizza as a delivery driver. It was here, during my early days as an employee, that I had my very first bite of pizza–after this, my passion for the industry was ignited.
After only six months of working at East Village Pizza, I was fired for a mistake I didn’t make. From there, I stayed in the industry, working various roles at different pizzerias, including at a pizzeria on MacDougal Street in the West Village, and a Domino’s Pizza on Long Island for nearly two years. At these establishments, I learned how to make pizza from scratch, and ultimately how to properly run and market a pizzeria. Five years later in 2003, when I learned East Village Pizza was for sale, I seized the opportunity to purchase it, working tirelessly to make it successful. I’m proud to share that I have been the sole Owner and Operator of East Village Pizza ever since, driven by a dream and an unwavering determination for success. A motto I live by is “those who do not pay the price of success for a period of time will pay the price of failure for a lifetime.”
Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?
Our primary focus is on making pizza that perfectly blends tradition and innovation. At East Village Pizza, we do have other offerings, including our famous cheesy garlic knots and calzones. Personally, I’ve spent the last 27 years learning the craft of how to make the perfect pizza from scratch. As I mentioned above, I had to work very hard to reach this point in my career, going from never having had pizza to owning and operating my own pizzeria in the span of just five years. Initially, I took a job at a pizzeria simply to make ends meet, but that job soon became a pivotal turning point in my life. Working in a pizzeria helped me hone my skills to learn the intricacies of pizza making, driving my passion along the way. My curiosity also played a significant role in my journey. I believe that being curious is essential to mastering any craft, and it’s driven me to continuously experiment, learn, and perfect my dishes over the past decades.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you became a restaurateur? What was the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
Like any restaurant owner, I have plenty of funny stories to share–but there’s one in particular that I will never forget because of the lesson learned. After working very hard for nearly six years at a few different pizzerias, I was so excited to call East Village Pizza my own. However, I had mistakenly thought that if I owned my own restaurant, I would have a chance to relax and enjoy being my own boss.
Life quickly taught me a lesson, and soon I was working even harder than I was as an employee–I was working double the hours, getting up earlier, working later than everyone else, and giving my all because now this was my business, and its success depended on me. The takeaway from this was that if you have goals, especially as a restaurant owner, if you want to succeed, you have to keep working hard. You have to keep putting in the work day-in and day-out, and stay committed to your passions, no matter how tiresome or difficult the journey may be.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? How did you overcome this obstacle?
Starting out as an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry is going to be difficult for anyone, but starting out as an immigrant in the NYC pizzeria scene was incredibly tough. I worked very long hours when I first started my journey, and I was new to running a business. I quickly learned that making pizza is one thing, but running a pizzeria is entirely different and more difficult. Shortly after this realization, I decided to seek out professional resources to help and discover how to properly run a business. I started reading books and articles about running successful businesses, watching business videos, and studying all of this information. After three years, my business was finally running smoothly. Overcoming these initial challenges is what helped me learn and adapt, ultimately shaping me into a better business owner.
In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?
The key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about is spending time in your kitchen! Spending the time in your kitchen, and getting to know it well, is key for being creative. Along with this, it’s important to use high-quality ingredients and embrace experimentation! It’s essential to know your kitchen and ingredients well and to play around with them–understanding them will give you an idea of how those ingredients can be used to create the perfect dish. This ultimately fuels creativity, and allows for those brilliant new ideas and unique dishes to be created that’ll blow customers away. The more time you invest, the better a dish will be, which will drive customers in and earn their loyalty.
Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal for you’?
The perfect meal for me really is pizza! It isn’t just because I own a pizzeria, or am around it at all times–I genuinely love pizza and the way it makes me feel. To me, pizza is the perfect meal because, living in New York City, it’s so convenient. Plus, this city truly has the best pizza in the world! My love for pizza makes it easy to be passionate about running East Village Pizza, and knowing the joy I bring to so many other New Yorkers and tourists looking for that perfect NY-style slice.
Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?
I believe you have to create your inspiration rather than wait for it to come to you. Inspiration can be found all around us–in the car, the park, and everywhere else. For me, my main source of creativity boost comes from my time in the kitchen at East Village Pizza. Here, I’m not the boss, but the operator, allowing my creativity to flow and find sources of inspiration to experiment with. This hands-on approach is what helped me to create some of East Village Pizza’s most famed dishes, like the double-stacked pizza and cheesy garlic knots, which have reached worldwide fame by going viral on social media.
In short, you have to be open to thinking outside the box to create your inspiration. With this, you can discover new techniques, flavors, and dishes to elevate your recipes.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?
I’m always working on new projects at East Village Pizza–whether it’s a new dish or a new addition, I’m always working on something! I’ve always believed that the day you stop creating new projects, is the day you start losing. Even though every project may not always be a success, trying something new keeps inspiration alive and exciting!
My latest project I’m working on is a new recipe for a fresh eggplant pizza. We’re currently reworking the recipe, and are excited to sell it at the pizzeria. I’m hoping that it will be an interesting new addition to our menu that is mind-blowing for our customers, and that it will keep them coming back for more.
What advice would you give to other restaurateurs to thrive and avoid burnout?
My advice to other restaurateurs is to not fixate on your competitors. Your time is valuable, and it’s important to spend the time you do have focusing on your business. There are always going to be competitors, but if you fill your mind focusing on those small things, you won’t have time to consider the big things. Running a restaurant is not easy, it takes time, dedication, and curiosity to succeed. As restaurateurs, our minds are already swarming with thoughts and ideas–if you are spending time focusing on other businesses and how to compete with them, you lose sight of the main idea of your business’ success. It’s also important to stay curious. Curiosity provides you with the power to make you feel energetic and passionate about your business, allowing you to learn, grow, and innovate.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Restaurateur” and why?
- You are alone. Before you open your business, all your friends and family are going to share their suggestions with you, even though most of these people have no experience running a business. Of course, you could choose to listen to their advice, even though I would not. It’s important to remember you, and only you, have to be fully ready when you’re opening your own restaurant.
For example, if you’re sick and ask your friends and family to help you out for the day to cover for work, but no one is available, opening and operating that restaurant will fall solely onto you. It’s important to be prepared with backup plans for instances like this, and properly plan for any issues that may arise, because at the end of the day, you are alone in the responsibilities and challenges of running a restaurant.
2. Even though you may be best at making the food your restaurant sells, you must learn to run your business in three ways:
Learn how and where to shop for your ingredients. It’s essential to use high-quality, fresh ingredients, as this directly impacts the flavor and quality of your dishes, and influences a customer’s dining experience.
Implement a strong business management. Having a strong business management, whether that be you or an employee you trust to run the business operations, allows for you to receive great feedback and implement strategies for success to create a thriving business.
3. Marketing is essential. For your business to succeed, marketing is key, whether it be traditional or through social media. This has been instrumental for my business, and social media has really allowed me to foster a sense of community and connection with customers, while showcasing the dishes that East Village Pizza is famous for, helping me accumulate a community of over 1.7 million followers on Instagram.
Do not be scared of failing. During my journey, I made a lot of mistakes, but with each mistake, I learned a valuable lesson. I never tried placing blame on someone or making myself feel guilty for any mistake, but rather, I adjusted my mindset to focus on the lesson and how to make sure the same mistake won’t be made twice. It’s important to never give up, no matter the amount of failures, you just have to keep giving your all to your business.
4. Learn how to deal with your employees. Developing a good relationship with your employees will ensure the atmosphere of the restaurant is positive and happy. A good restaurateur should know how to properly train employees–this will give you a better look as a business leader, and also make your employees feel valued and happy to come into work everyday.
It’s important to remember we are all people, and your employees will have their bad days. It’s how you manage situations like this, or when employees request a day off, or are unexpectedly sick, that’s the test of a strong restaurateur. By helping out your employees, you are driving the success of your business simultaneously.
5. Learn how to take action. You have to learn how to take action in order to make progress, and to do this you have to not be afraid to make mistakes. Restaurateurs must make business decisions and think quickly on their feet, so if you see an issue or area for improvement, it’s important to be confident in yourself and take action.
What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?
The one dish I wish everyone could try is our Margherita pizza. At East Village Pizza, I’ve spent years perfecting this recipe, playing around with the ingredients, proportions, and flavor profiles, to create what has become our signature and best-selling pie. It’s important to me to never skimp on ingredients, and this can be seen in our Margherita pie, loaded with fresh basil on top. This reflects one of the core values I cherish at East Village Pizza–a commitment to using high-quality, generously portioned fresh ingredients to ensure customers receive great value with every dish.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
If I could inspire one movement it would be for business leaders to think three times, and act once. To me, it’s so important to think carefully before acting. A lot of times, things can seem simpler in our minds, but are actually much more complex in reality. Similarly to the appearance of objects in a car’s side view mirror, things may appear distant, but are actually closer than they seem. Of course, we all want to prevent an unexpected accident while driving, so we must take the time to think before acting. The same is true outside the context of these car mirror warnings. In our daily life, we all want to avoid making as many mistakes and accidents that we can, especially when it comes to starting a business. Taking the time to properly think thoroughly and consider any potential ramifications will be impactful for when you do act.
Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!
Frank Kabatas of East Village Pizza: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Restaurateur was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.