Albanian-Born Du Quoin Family Restaurant Owner Defected From Soviet Block

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Mark Caushat admits two years ago he almost left the keys on the table and walked out the door of the Du Quoin Family Restaurant.

Then, three of his employees told him "Don't do it!" reminding him of how far he had come two months into the ownership of the restaurant on Rt. 51 south of Du Quoin.

Surely the struggles of American entrepreneurship paled by defecting from the Albanian Army at the age of 17, secretly crossing the border out of the then-Soviet block country and making his way to the United States.

Two years later, not walking away turned out to be the right decision.

The restaurant is busy, employs between 12 and 15 people and Mark is so appreciative of the friends he has made in Du Quoin.

"I was nervous. I told myself 'Call it off'," he remembers.

"Now, everybody knows me by name. I don't owe anybody" and in some form or fashion his small piece of the American dream has come true. "This is my life now. It is No. 1!"

"My life was never a walk in the park," says Mark who opens the door each day with a smile at the beautiful woman in the gyros poster on the wall behind the counter. The restaurant offers Greek, Italian and American dishes. "I don't care what is on our menu. We will fix it for you from 6 a.m. until we close--we serve breakfast all day."

"I will make you a cheeseburger at 6 a.m. if you want one," he smiles.

Decades ago the restaurant opened as a KFC and last fall Mark finished the makeover by repainting the outside.

"I escaped over the border at 17, got a factory job in Philadelphia for two years, then lived in Detroit for 20 years" before partnering with a brother on the Du Quoin restaurant. His brother got out of the business early.

Two years later Mark says, "You take care of business and it will take care of you!"

"I tell my employees this is OUR business, not yours or mine and we will be fair."

"You have got to respect people. I have no complaints," he said. "People like our food. That's all I hear."

Mark is wonderfully animated and can't talk without his hands. Two years later the employees are paid and so are the bills so when the beautiful girl on the wall smiles at him "I smile back."