Kojak’s Cafe Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Kojak’s Cafe at 1912 West 18th is celebrating its tenth anniversary
this month. The business, owned by Mark and Kathryn Oster, started as a
small import store selling po’boys and has grown to a full-service
restaurant with a variety of menu items.
The original Kojak’s was located on Shepherd Drive for twenty-five years
as a gourmet import store until the owners closed it to start a gourmet
food distributorship. In 2000, one of the owners decided to reopen the
business on West 18th Street. Mark, who was working in gourmet food
sales, became involved in Kojak’s when one of the owner’s partners
abruptly left the business after two months.
“I came in to help out and was here about a year helping to turn things
around. After that, I just approached him and offered to buy the
business,” he says. The deal was made and Mark became the new owner of
Kojak’s.
He recalls the early years of Kojak’s Cafe. “We started out with po’boys
and a hot meal every day. The hot meal was out of a steam table that
people used to walk up to, and I used to serve out of it and put it on
their plate. We literally started where we were doing 50 people a day,
and we grew it one customer at a time by word of mouth.”
Mark is not only a business owner he is an experienced chef. After
attending culinary school he was a chef at various restaurants in
Houston. “My wife and I met in culinary school. We went through the
culinary program at HCC, and from there I worked in Napa Valley for a
while and I worked here in Houston for some notable places like Benjys,
Ritz Carlton and the Boulevard Bistro. So I was a chef for seven years.”
Many changes have taken place since Kojak’s modest beginnings. “Now ten
years later we have taken over the space next door, and we have space to
seat 150 people. We have a wide variety of menu items, from salads to
cold sandwiches to hot sandwiches. We recently added french fries and an
Angus burger, our number one seller now. We are known, as we have always
been, for our daytime lunch specials. We always post our specials on our
website for lunch and dinner. We try to get to know our customers.
That’s how we made it for ten years, by getting to know individuals on a
first name basis.”
Kojak’s menu still includes Mediterranean fare such as a gyro plate,
falafel pita, and a classic Greek salad. The lunch and dinner menus
offer a wide variety of dishes such as chicken enchiladas, fresco pasta,
and baked tilapia picatta.
Kojak’s Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 7:30 pm,
serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. To see the menu and daily specials
go to www.kojakscafe.com.
