What started as a gas station eatery has grown into a franchise-ready business.
Mr. Kabob, a Middle Eastern eatery that opened in 2000 inside a Berkley Sunoco, has expanded to include Cafe Kabob Mediterranean Grille & Catering, a 2,400-square-foot Southfield restaurant expected to boost the combined bottom line for the two locations by 25 percent this year.
Mr. Kabob, opened by Wally Gulli, quickly became popular, winning area awards, enjoying a sales increase of about 20 percent annually and expanding to offer catering “in excess of 30, 40 miles away,” said Ouse Gulli, Wally’s son and Cafe Kabob’s executive chef and vice president.
The 900-square-foot Mr. Kabob once sent a catering order to 23 Mile and Garfield. “Can you imagine how many restaurants we passed on the way?” Ouse said. “People ask for us by name.”
The Gulli family turned down franchising offers early on “because we weren’t ready,” but now the business is ripe for expansion, said Ouse. The February 2008 opening of Cafe Kabob marked the first step in the business’s national expansion plan.
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