Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2012

A restaurant owner returns to Garner to work his 'MoJo'

He runs his own place now

Joe Preteroti had planned to get out of the restaurant business when he closed Miami Subs Grill in Garner a couple of years ago. But when he would visit friends in town, he wasn't thrilled with the food options.

"Come lunchtime, where are you gonna eat?" asked Preteroti, 53, who lives in Cary.

So last May, Preteroti opened MoJo's Grill off Timber Drive.

He's been working in restaurants since he was a teenager, and his family owned pizzerias in Rochester, N.Y. He later moved to Florida, where he briefly owned a fine-dining restaurant.

Two decades ago, Preteroti began washing dishes at a Miami Subs Grill. He studied how the business worked and opened his own franchise in Florida a few years later.

Preteroti moved to the Triangle and opened a franchise on U.S. 401 in Garner in 1995, running the eatery for 15 years.

But Preteroti said he was ready to get out of the franchise world, in which parent companies often make the big decisions. At MoJo's, he runs the show.

He said he also considered opening his restaurant in Holly Springs or Fuquay-Varina. But he chose to return to Garner.

"I love this area," Preteroti said. "That's why we opened it. I could have opened it anywhere."

MoJo's isn't even a year old yet, but Preteroti said a few people have already asked him if they could open franchises. He's undecided about that.

Running a restaurant is a huge commitment, Preteroti said. He gets to work at 9:30 a.m. and leaves 13 hours later.

"I wanted to be successful," Preteroti said. "In this business, you need to commit."

Location: 2648 Timber Drive, Garner, in the Kroger shopping plaza.

Contact: 919-662-1115.

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday.

The menu: MoJo's has burgers, wings, salads and more. It also features gyros and pitas.

Most popular: Preteroti said customers love the cheesesteaks and gyros.

Fresh ingredients: Everything is made fresh. "We're not trying to reinvent the cheeseburger or reinvent the cheesesteak," Preteroti said. "I just want to make a good product."

Tzatziki: The cucumber sauce also is made fresh daily, and workers prepare about 10 pounds of it each day. It's a big hit at MoJo's. "People have been dipping their fries in it," Preteroti said. "People are asking if I'll sell it to them by the pound."

For the kids: The kids' menu includes hot dogs, chicken tenders and burgers.

A lunch crowd: "My biggest problem is that I don't have enough seats," Preteroti said. Sometimes, he said, customers come in for lunch and return with their families for dinner.

More than a meal: Preteroti said he likes to get to know his customers. When he closed Miami Subs, he said, he missed the people.

And customers want a good experience when they eat out, Preteroti said. "They want to enjoy the food, but they want to enjoy the company too."