Josef's Gyros & Kabobs - Appleton, Wisconsin
Josef’s Gyros & Kabobs Quick Facts:
Fast casual restaurant specializing in Mediterranean-inspired food
Location: 118 Soldiers Square, Appleton, Wisconsin
Website: www.josefs-gyros.com
For Carl Sanderfoot, being a restaurant owner is simply the natural order of things. He grew up in a family of entrepreneurs—his parents were restaurant owners themselves—and he’s always loved food. “I was working in the kitchen at 12 years old, working on the grill and the fryers, and trying to create my own recipes,” says Carl. “It was just something I’ve always had a passion for.”
That’s how he found himself owning and operating Josef’s Gyros & Kabobs in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin.
Josef’s started in 2003, when Josef Sattakeh, who immigrated to the United States from Iran in the late 1980s, opened the small shop on Appleton’s Soldiers Square. In 2014, after bouncing around between a few locations in Appleton and eventually returning to his original tucked-away location just off College Avenue, Josef was ready to hang up the apron and enjoy retirement.
That’s where the Sanderfoot family came into the story.
Carl and Nikki Sanderfoot purchased Josef’s in 2014. They already owned another restaurant across town, and had been looking for a second location. But that plan changed when Carl learned that Josef was looking to sell his little gyros shop. “I came across that this was for sale and decided that I could use a change of pace myself,” says Carl. “I was a fan of the menu and had been a customer for years prior, so I was familiar with the food.” So, rather than adding a second location to their existing restaurant, Carl decided to continue the tradition of Josef’s.
It was, in Carl’s words, “interesting timing”—at the time, Carl and Nikki were expecting their second child. “Admittedly, it was a pretty big gamble at the time—considering my wife was pregnant with our second child—to be taking on a second business,” says Carl. “But we made it work, and we’ve been going strong.”
A couple enjoys the outdoor seating at Josef’s Gyros & Kabobs at 118 Soldiers Square in Appleton, Wisconsin.
What makes Josef’s so special?
Of course, there’s the food. Carl is a purist when it comes to the gyros meat. It’s a specific blend he carefully tracked down based on its flavor and quality. Every day, the meat roasts the traditional way, on a vertical rotisserie, and is freshly sliced for each dish. Where Josef’s gyros do differ from tradition is in how they’re dressed. In addition to the tomato, onion and tzatziki, Carl has perfected the Josef’s gyro by adding a bit of lettuce, cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. It’s a result that’s light and refreshing and leaves you wondering if tomorrow—or later today—is too soon for your next visit.
But it’s also the location that makes Josef’s such a find. “This is one of those hole-in-the-wall-type restaurants that people just naturally seek out and want to talk about, like they’re in on some sort of a secret,” says Carl. “Part of our success is that you’ve found this small, unique thing. That’s the experience.”
“We are delivering something that is really special and different from anything else in the Valley. Not just the food itself, but the experience.”
Reviews from satisfied customers back up his theory. Josef’s is well known to residents and visitors to Appleton, and is often referred to as a “downtown gem” and “the best gyros in town.”
“I thrive on that instant feedback,” says Carl. “You get this approval when you’re doing something well and people acknowledge it, and they say, ‘That was the best gyro I’ve ever had.’ That is so enriching.”
A passion for food, service and people.
If there’s a secret to the success of Josef’s, it’s not a single thing. The food is great, the location unique. But, perhaps what stands out the most in speaking with Carl is his outlook on serving people while doing what you love, making a living, and bringing what you’ve created to the world. “You do something for so long and it does become an extension of yourself,” says Carl. “It is a very personal kind of experience.”
And, for Carl and Nikki Sanderfoot, what that experience really comes down to is the people, the relationships with their staff, customers and community. “You are the business, at least in a business this size,” says Carl. “Once you step away from it, it’s a collection of equipment—it’s fryers and grills and refrigerators and tables and chairs. But you bring yourself into it and your personality into it, and you hire people that also bring themselves and their personality into it, and it’s those things together that make a business.”
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to serve the best gyros in town.