Although DonerG has been open a while, their official grand opening has yet to happen. Leading up to the event, they are holding a raffle for all sorts of swag like an iPad, gift certificates and signature apparel. Check out their website to enter. While you're doing that, I get a few more questions with Yalcin.
Read our interview with Yalcin Aslan of DonerG, part one.
And now, on to part two . . .
Tell us about your work experience prior to opening DonerG. We heard you were a tour guide?
It was very fun! When you love what you're doing, it's not really working. I enjoyed sharing my country's history and culture with people from all over the world. The best part was introducing people to doner kebabs!
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Where did you grow up?
Germany! When I was eight, I moved to Turkey.
Are there advantages/disadvantages to working with family?
Of course, but you have to take the good with the bad and vice versa. Also, having good communication helps– a lot!
What would you be doing if you weren't in this business?
Ideally, I would be playing soccer. I love it very much. I used to play professionally in Turkey.
Hardest lesson you've learned:
Patience is always the best, yet hardest lesson to learn.
Last song playing on your radio:
Evanescence – My Immortal. They make awesome music.
Last thing you looked up online:
I like to read a lot of things and educate myself on many different topics. I also research what I can do to continually improve DonerG. For instance, learning about social media and how it relates to the relationship between consumer and business is very interesting to me. To think that technology has come this far is amazing, and many opportunities for DonerG lie in it.
Is there anything you'd like readers to know that we haven't asked?
Thank you to all my family, friends and wonderful customers! I wish that I could name every individual to whom I owe special thanks to, but I don't think it's very considerate of me to use up all of OC Weekly's ink. Thanks for reading!
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A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.