Wilton Cafe: Alimoski ownership onto next chapter

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For the Alimoski family, the 2021 holiday season represented yet another chapter in a decades long love affair with the Wilton Café. That love had spread to the community through multiple generations.

On Friday, Dec. 24, Wilton Café owner Sakir “Chili” Alimoski served his last day on the job before turning over the reins to his older brother Mendim Alimoski, who purchased the family business from his little brother after months of planning.

It began in 2003, when Andy and Rosie Alimoski, parents of Chili and Mendim, purchased the Café from Bob and Sandy Lief. According to Chili, Andy Alimoski owned a restaurant in Pontiac, Illinois prior to coming to Wilton. “One of our relatives owned a restaurant in Lowden, and told my dad the Café was for sale. He came up and watched it for a week, then decided to buy it,” Chili said.

Andy and his wife Rosie made the Wilton Café their own, cooking and serving comfort food in downtown Wilton for 12 years, before selling to their son Chili, who purchased the business in 2015. “It’s been a family affair. My little brother Boni and I were most involved. I went to college, then came back and helped my dad with catering. I got my degree, but always knew in the back of my mind that I’d take over the family restaurant,” Chili said.

Chili said he took ownership around the time that social media was taking off, and he used it to the Café’s advantage, with a very active Facebook page. “I’ve taken that to help it become more popular in town, and statewide,” he noted.

He’s also a man among the patrons while in the restaurant. Pick a day on the calendar, and when customers enter the Wilton Café, they often find Chili sitting amongst the diners, chatting with the regulars, or presenting special birthday pancakes to area youngsters.

“We’re always there, always working. You form relationships with the customers; that goes hand-in-hand,” said Chili.

In the years since relinquishing ownership, Andy and Rosie took over the Family Restaurant in Muscatine, where they are still able to serve home cooked meals to area customers. And brother Boni owns a waffle and pancake restaurant in downtown Muscatine.

Through the years, the restaurant has built quite a base of regulars, which Chili attributes to a menu that works. “We don’t tweak the menu much; it’s worked for 20 years. We’re not fancy. We make simple, ‘what your mom would make on a Saturday morning’ food,” Chili said.

The loyalty of his customer base was shown in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the dining room was forced to close. The business converted to take-out only, and it even offered reduced price meals to students. “If I was new, I don’t think I could have stayed open. If we didn’t have our regulars, we’d be out of luck. We could only make it out together. You’re in it to take care of the people who take care of you,” Chili said.

Arty’s changes everything

In 2019, Chili had a vision — to buy the former Dairy Queen on Fifth Street in Wilton, a business that had changed hands several times over the years. He had just had his first child with wife Alex, and purchased the business in July, naming it Arty’s Ice Cream & Grill after his son.

They spent four months renovating the business and getting the menu ready, featuring big burgers, sides and of course ice cream, a staple of the location for decades.

It caught on, and Chili has used Facebook to promote the business, which has taken on a life of its own. “It really caught on. Then we added ‘burgers of the week,’ and got creative with our ideas,” he said.

It’s a different crowd than that of the Café. “When we caught fire, it ramped up the fire in me. We continued adding more,” Chili added.

People took notice, as the business has been swamped with customers, even through the pandemic. The burgers were named top 10 in Iowa by the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. Chili purchased a food truck, and now takes Arty’s on the road, and he’s looking to convert the garage behind the business into a party room.

The business has boomed, and so has the amount of staff, which provides great opportunities to local high school students. For Chili, it meant starting his day at 5:15 in order to meet the needs of the Café, which is open for breakfast and lunch. Then it was off to Arty’s until around 9:30 each evening. “I was never home. And even when I’m not here, my mind couldn’t shut down,” Chili added. “Arty’s is a huge beast, I was so focused on it, and we were losing out at the Café."

Mendim takes ownership

“I told him he should buy it. We worked on it for a year, and now it’s here,” said Chili of Mendim’s decision to buy the Café business.

For a few weeks prior to Chili’s final day on Dec. 24, Mendim took the wheel at the Café, operating “as if Chili didn’t exist.”

Mendim, 37, had worked at the Café off and on over the years during Chili’s ownership. “Even when I’ve tried to get away from this kind of work I can’t; it’s in our blood. We learned from our dad,” Mendim said. “We love this town; it will be great for my family and I.”

Mendim lives in Durant with his wife Dita and children Albi, Dorian and Nikko.

“I’m not scared, more nervous and excited. I’ve done it day in and day out. There will be nothing really different. The majority of things will stay the same,” Mendim said. “I’m older. I’m looking for this to be the final chapter. The employees are staying, and we’ll have the same great food.”

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