Kojak's to open at larger location in Cary by end of September

CARY – Kojak's is set to move into its new and larger location within Cary by the last week of September.

Kojak's owner Carrie Schuppe said the new location, 700 W. Northwest Highway, will more than double its existing seating capacity from 24 to 55 seats and will add several new options for food and drinks, including craft beers.

Kojak’s is a fast, casual restaurant located at 130 Crystal St. that offers Italian beef, gyros, burgers, hot dogs and various other sandwich and wrap options. The restaurant, which Schuppe bought five years ago, has been open in Cary for about 25 years.

“We’ve completely outgrown our space, so this will give us more seating and much more comfortable seating for our evening dine-in customers,” Schuppe said.

The new store will feature new services, such as curbside pickup and online ordering, and offer a 24-flavor ice cream counter. Schuppe said the larger kitchen in the new store also will allow for expanded catering options.

Trustees approved at the March 7 board meeting issuing a Class J liquor license and video gaming license for Kojak’s, according to village documents. The liquor license allows alcohol sales for consumption both on and off the premises associated with the carryout service.

Schuppe also went before village trustees Tuesday seeking permission to include a wall sign and open an out,door seating area that serves alcohol. She also requested about $10,000 from the village’s facade improvement program to build a deck.

The village’s facade grant, which was established in 2013, splits project costs 50-50 between the village and the property owner.

Trustees granted her requests for the wall sign and the outdoor seating but were unable to approve the facade grant funding because the program has been temporarily halted.

Director of Community Development Brian Simmons said recent discussions among board members, specifically newly elected trustees, led to the village putting a short-term hiatus on the grant program to explore other options for grants or loans that still can help local businesses.

“It’s more just refocusing on what types of programs or offerings we may have for businesses to expand their businesses,” Simmons said. “We’re still investigating what options we could have and could revisit [the grant program] in the next month or so.”

Schuppe said that she still is planning to move forward with the facade improvements that include building a deck, and expects the process to cost about $19,500.

Kojak's also previously got a $75,000 loan from the village with a seven-year term and 2.27 percent interest rate from the village's revolving loan fund.

“Our customers can’t wait,” Schuppe said. “They’re cracking jokes when we have too many people in here and say, ‘You need a bigger space.’ ”