Erkan Öncü

After moving to Finland in 1993, young Turkish army war veteran Erkan Öncü first worked as a plumber. It went well, even though his left arm and right knee were damaged in the army.

Later, Öncü's road has passed to peoples hearts through his delicious foods.

- When I opened my own restaurant in 1998, the beginning as an entrepreneur was difficult, says Erkan Öncü.

Setting up a company and the related bureaucracy wasn't too difficult because my Finnish ex-wife helped, but learning the Finnish work and business culture took time.

- In the beginning I had two employees and I worked for four. On the weekend, we didn't close until five in the morning, and sometimes I even did 22-hour work days. When I was young, I had periods of it and I wanted to succeed, Erkan says.

In the beginning, a large part of the customers were people met in the plumbing work and customers of the plumbing company and their acquaintances.

- Little by little, the reputation of Erka's kebab pizzeria spread and our number of customers grew, says Öncü.