For much of his life, Tony Lutfi has had the goal of owning 50 restaurants before turning 50 years old. He was recently on the cover of Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine with the headline: Mega 99: Tony Lutfi soars from 52 to 134 units in three years.

Far surpassing his goals, Lutfi, whose corporate headquarters are in the Pocket area, is among the top 55 multi-unit franchises in the nation.

Born in 1960 in Amman Jordan as the youngest child for a refugee Palestinian family who then lived in Jordan, Lutfi immigrated to the United States in 1976 with hopes to pursue higher education in the medical field. He attended high school in Lodi and graduated in 1977, then quickly moved to Stockton and attended Delta College while sharing an apartment with his cousin.

“I did not want to be a burden to my family that struggled financially and I knew that I needed to work and make it on my own at age 16,” he said. He worked at a 7-11 for a short period of time and then was offered a position with Jack in the Box for the graveyard shift, which worked out well allowing me to attend classes in the day and work at night.

Life quickly took its course. Lutfi quit college and decided to accept a shift manager position with Jack in the Box. In 1980, the rest of his family immigrated to the U.S. and they decided to purchase a corner grocery store in Stockton. He quit his position with Jack in the Box and worked for the family business for two years while his family became more accustomed to the life style and learned English.

In 1993, Lutfi applied to work for a franchise and was given an opportunity with Rax Roast Beef as an assistant manager making $925 per month.

In 1984 Lutfi married to Anna, whom I dated for five years. He did not want to pay rent for a home and decided to purchase his first home by borrowing money on credit cards.

“I knew that I will work hard to pay the cards off and hoped that I will build enough equity in my home to use it later to buy a business. Life took its course again and our first son was born in 1985 and the second in 1987. I was right with my first investment, the house appreciated in value and the credit cards were paid off,” Lutfi said.

In 1988, he attempted to buy four restaurants from his employer, but lost the opportunity to another company who purchased the entire company and agreed to employ him.

A few years later, the president of the company decided to start a new company and asked him to be a partner operator. They purchased four Church’s Chicken restaurants in Sacramento and partnered up with a local Pocket area dentist, Greg Maroni DDS.

They remodeled the restaurants and started the company while he continued his employment with company. In 1998, Maroni and he decided to purchase the entire company and committed to a partnership.

“My goal has always been to own 50 restaurants before I turned 50. Time was running out as I turned 38 and had only a total of 11 which included three Long John Silver’s in the Bay Area, four Church’s Chicken in Sacramento and four Arby’s in Sacramento, Modesto and Tracy.

Maroni had two Arby’s, which he owned since the late 80’s in Auburn and Grass Valley.

They agreed to form a partnership and operate the 13 units.

They opened four restaurants between 1998 and 2000, one was Arby’s in the Pocket area Promenade Shopping Center. They either sold or closed all four locations within two years and decided that the only way they can grow is by way of acquisition minimizing risk.

In 2001 just before Sept. 11, they agreed to acquire four Church’s Chicken restaurants in Las Vegas. They took over the operations on Oct. 22.

“Naturally, the world changed after Sept. 11, especially in Las Vegas. Tourism came to quick halt and businesses suffered including our new acquired restaurants. I remember driving to Las Vegas weekly and working in the restaurants just to save labor and try to save the business. Luckily, we had great managers that maintained and quickly rebounded by 2003,” Lutfi said.

They paid off the loan for the Las Vegas stores in 2006 and began a journey of growth.

In 2006, they acquired 11 Church’s Chicken in Stockton and Tucson.

In 2007, they acquired 15 Church’s Chicken in Phoenix and opened their first Little Caesars Restaurant in Orangevale.

In 2008, they acquired 11 Church’s Chicken restaurants and opened their second little Caesars Restaurant in Carmichael.

In 2009, they opened another Little Caesars restaurant and a Church’s Chicken in Las Vegas

In 2010, Lutfi acquired 21 Jack in the Box restaurants in Modesto, Los Banos, Oroville, Marysville, Placerville and Sacramento.

In 2011, Lutfi acquired 14 Sears Hardware stores in Houston and St. Louis, and Sears Appliance Showrooms in Dallas and St. Louis, but also opened two restaurants, one in Galt and another in Las Vegas. Lutfi also acquired five Sizzlers in Auburn, Sacramento and the Bay Area.

In 2012, Lutfi opened another restaurant in Las Vegas and another in North Highlands and added a Sears location in Chino, Calif.

Lutfi and Maroni closed last year with their largest acquisition to date, 42 Arby’s restaurants in Oregon and Washington.

Today, Lutfi operates the following: five Sizzler restaurants, 21 Jack in the Box, eight Sears Appliance Showrooms, and six Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores.

With Maroni, Lutfi owns five Little Caesars, 43 Arby’s, 46 Church’s Chicken,

Lutfi and Maroni also offer management and consulting services to several organizations in Texas and California who operate 117 restaurants of various brands.

Lutfi is still married to the love of his life who worked with him years ago at the Jack in the Box. They were married in 1984 and had three boys, Metri 27, in the business operating the Jack in the Box Company and attended Fresno State, Stephen 25, a graduate from Fresno State as a civil Engineer; he also joined our company a few weeks ago and is currently our analyst; and Ramsey 20, in his third year at Fresno State pursuing his degree in Business.

Although the business has grown to near 150 in seven states, Lutfi says they remain a family business with several of the family leading and serving the business. Starting with my nephew Nader who has been an integral part of our continued growth and many others including Dr. Maroni who has remained committed for the entire ride.

Pocket area resident and attorney Shane Singh has been representing the MarLu Investment Group for over 11 years and handles a majority of their legal work.

The MarLu Investment Group office is in the Pocket area, 1531 Corporate Way.

Photo of Jean Siler and her collection of dolls, wearing clothing she made for them. / Photos by Sally King

Walking into Jean Siler’s spare room is a treat for folks who are unaware of her hobby.
From one corner of the room to the next, there are dolls of every size, shape and color. There are baby dolls to grown up dolls. All of the dolls, except one, are wearing clothes sewn by Siler.
Siler, a Greenhaven Pocket resident since 1993, has been sewing doll clothes since 2008. Siler’s hobby began when she had to endure two major back operations and then suffered a stroke. She lost all independence; unable to drive or walk for very long, she knew she needed to find a way to keep from going bonkers.
“When you have an illness that is never going to go away and there is no cure for it, there is a certain type of hell you go through,” Siler said. “I said to myself, let’s see what I can do and literally taught myself how to sew doll clothes.”
Siler retired from the California Youth Authority in 1993, then immediately went into 12 years of volunteering as a docent at the Sacramento Zoo. She loved her work and learned how to handle some of the smaller exotic animals. Siler majored in drama in college and was at one time quite active with the civic theatre in Stockton.
Used to being physically active, after the stroke, Siler became chronically depressed.  She knew she had to find some kind of a hook to keep her mind from becoming stale.
One day Siler looked around her spare room and decided to start cleaning things out. She had her husband move things from the spare room to their garage. While in the garage, Siler spied her old Singer sewing machine.
Siler, married 53 years, had to make all of her family’s clothes when they first married because they were so poor.
“I vowed I would never sew again,” Siler says. “It wasn’t fun to sew at that time, it was sheer work.”
Remembering her years of sewing, she started to wonder how doll clothes were made. The clothes were so small. Siler’s curiosity grew and she started reading books on how to sew doll clothes. She had no idea that dolls were not just for children, but a whole, big industry that catered to adults too.
“It had been 30 years since I had last sewn and I had to learn texture, color and what draping was,” Siler said. “One can’t imagine how much money was wasted learning these things.”
Siler’s husband set up the spare room with bins and shelves, giving Siler a place where she could sew the doll clothes and display her newly outfitted dolls. He also bought her a new sewing machine.
Siler wanted to know how the dolls were made. She found out there were artists who make the dolls and these artists have prototypes, one-of-a-kind dolls.
Two artists she enjoys are Helen Kish and Diane Effner. Effner works with porcelain and Kish is best known for her vinyl dolls. Both artists are well known for their facial sculptures.
Siler still has a Bitty doll given to her at age 13 by her mother. She has another larger Bitty doll she found through E-Bay. Siler likes the fact there is so much history in the dolls. The Bitty dolls were popular during World War II.
Siler said sewing the doll clothes is great therapy and her specialists approve. It not only helps her mentally and emotionally, it improves her fine motor skills.

Individual dolls / Photos by Tom Siler

“I suffer from frequent insomnia and pain,” Siler says. “This is like a form of yoga. Instead of popping oxytocin at two o’clock in the morning, I get up and start sewing the doll clothes, which helps relieve the pain.”
Millie Baird, Siler’s housekeeper for the last 10 years, said Siler has turned into an excellent seamstress and is creative.
“This has been the best therapy in the world for her,” Baird said. “Being able to sew these doll clothes has kept Jean from being bedridden. It keeps her mobile and there are always new outfits for the dolls.”
Siler knows she can’t go out much but believes she now does something in an almost professional way. It fulfills almost everything.
“This hobby gives me so much pleasure, “Siler says. “I can measure what I have done and there is a finished product. I can tell if I have improved my skill.”
Siler said she would be glad to show her dolls and doll clothes to those interested. She sells the clothes, but not the dolls.
Maryanne Walt met Siler at the dentist office where she works. Walt was looking for doll clothes for her grandchildren and visited Siler’s collection. She was amazed at how beautiful the doll clothes were.
“ I have never seen so many beautiful dolls, Walt said. “ I am a detail oriented person and Siler is an artist, you can see the detail and passion she has for the doll clothes.”
Looking around the cheery room filled with dolls, Siler feels a warmth and happiness for what she has accomplished and the dolls all seem to have their special place, showing off the custom made clothes.
If you are interested in seeing Siler’s collection or perhaps even buying some doll clothes, email her at jean.siler@comcast.net

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of articles about McClatchy athletes and teams chosen for its new sports Hall of Fame.
The 50 athletes/coaches and teams from 1938 to 1962 will be inducted as part of the 75 year McClatchy celebration on Sept. 20 at the Riverside Elks Lodge.
For information about the athletes and how to get tickets, go to restoretheroar.org.

At noon on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1947, 24,000 frenzied football fans squeezed into Hughes Stadium to see the unbeaten McClatchy Lions and the Sacramento Dragons battle for the Sac-Joaquin League championship.
As a wide-eyed 8-year-old, this was my first football game and would become a Thanksgiving tradition for my family that would last until the 1970s, when the Turkey Day game ended.
Turkey Day 1947 would be the greatest sporting event in Sacramento history with more than half the city attending. After the school opened in 1937, the up-start McClatchy Lions began to chip into Sacramento High School’s athletic dominance by the mid-1940s.
One-half of the city was “Lion Red” while the other half was “Dragon Purple.”
North of Broadway, you were a Dragon; south of Broadway in the suburbs of Sacramento, you were a Lion.
In 1939, McClatchy first beat Sacramento 13-6 behind all-city running back Fred Wristen.* The only tie was in 1940, and Bob Geremia was the star of the 1942 game for the Lions.
1943 brought the Lions a close win 13-12 and the undefeated 1944 McClatchy* team slaughtered the Dragons 44-0 and 25-0. McClatchy had won the last five years, two in 1944 and 45 because there were no night games during World War II, and local teams played each other twice.

The 1947 team
In 1947, Sacramento was coached by George Relles and led by quarter-back Jack Higdon and running backs Henry Barsanti, Vic Frediani and Ed Day.
Burt Delevan and Peter Mering anchored the line. The closest game was against Grant where the team trailed 7-0 at half. The second half was led by Day, Frediani and Mering, and Sacramento ended up winning 19-7.
The Lions, coached by George Bican,* were led by the “high-stepping twins,” John Pappa* (14 touchdowns) and Del Rasmussen* (nine touchdowns).
Rasmussen had run for almost 700 yards and averaged 13.4 yards per carry. Pappa had more than 400 yards and fullback Chuck Marino had almost 300 yards.
Tony Geremia* was an outstanding passer and kicked extra points. Ends Curtis Rowland* and John Matulich were his favorite receivers.
The McClatchy line was led by all-city tackle/linebacker Leon King*, guards Sturmer White and Bill Burns*, all-city center Vern Sampson* and tackle Clarence “Tiger” Orr.
Grant Deary, Bob Farmer* and Bob Norris came in on a strong McClatchy defense that had four shut-outs during the year.
The Lions averaged 33 points per game on offense.
The winning streak
McClatchy started its winning ways on Oct. 4, with a 36-0 win over Christian Brothers with Geremia throwing touchdowns to Pappa and Marino.
The following Friday in the rain at Hughes Stadiums, the Lions beat Woodland 26-0 with Rasmussen running for 121 yards and Pappa 77 yards. At Grant the following week, Geremia threw for more than 200 yards and the “twins” each scored once for a 45-13 victory.
Bican pulled out his bag of tricks and put Leon King at fullback for a touchdown and extra point.
Meanwhile, Sacramento was rolling along beating CBS 27-0, Turlock 12-0, Stockton 12-0, Modesto 25-7, Lodi 13-6, Woodland 21-13 and Grant 19-7.
Defense was the heart of the team, and everyone expected the Lions to give a tough match when they met the Dragons on Thanksgiving Day.
Leading up to the big game, McClatchy visited the Lodi Flames, and before 5,000 fans, Pappa (94 yards and 3 touchdowns), and Rasmussen (68 yards and 2 touchdowns) ran wild for a 39-0 victory.
Rowland blocked a punt and Farmer intercepted a pass to preserve the shutout. The following week against Modesto, with Pappa having a bad heel and Rasmussen the flu, Marino was the workhorse with 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Rasmussen still had 89 yards, Rowland a TD and Deary an interception at linebacker.
Nov. 27 was here at last.

Turkey Day game
The city was in a frenzy.
The local radio station KFBK had a huge pep rally on the air at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with Tony Koester, the Sacramento Solons announcer, as the MC. On Thanksgiving morning, people began lining up for tickets four hours early at 8 a.m.
The headline of the Sacramento Bee on Friday, Nov. 28, read: “Lions roar to 35-14 victory over Dragons before record 24,000.”
The article read: “A storming fireball C. K. McClatchy High School eleven collaborated with the greatest crowd in the annals of Sacramento sports yesterday to bust the record books wide open in the most dynamic and colorful Thanksgiving Day football game ever produced within the confines of Hughes Memorial Stadium.
While more than 24,000 gridiron enthusiasts crammed into every cranny of the arena for the first time in its history, overflowing into the aisles, hanging precariously on the rims, and spilling out on to the track surrounding the playing turf, THE RAZZLE DAZZLE LIONS cannonaded their way to the Sac-Joaquin section championship with a glittering 35-14 conquest of the Sacramento Dragons.”**
The Lions struck early and often building up a 21-0 halftime lead. Del Rasmussen* carried only nine times for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Sacramento Bee article continued: “The fair haired boy…was dashing Del Rasmussen, a swivel hipped, squirming, prancing ball packer of all-conference magnitude who broke the Dragons’ backs with two long touchdown scampers. Fronting the way for him and sidekick John Papa was a dominant offensive line led by the 220 pound Leon King…who was tremendously effective at tackle and linebacker. Geremia had an outstanding game, with fourth and goal at the three, he crossed up Sacramento with an end-around to Curtis Rowland for a touchdown and a 21-0 halftime lead.”**
McClatchy scored twice more in the third quarter with Marino scoring a touchdown in his fourth straight game against the Dragons.
Sacramento blocked a punt and scored to start the fourth quarter. Again in the fourth quarter, a missed handoff resulted in a fumble at the Dragon 22.
“Henry Barsanti caught the ball in mid air and set sail for the goal line. Pappa, however, picked himself up off the turf and, after spotting Barsanti 15 yards, amazingly overhauled him on the Lion nine. Fumbleistis set in on the second play, and Rasmussen recovered to thwart any hope of a Dragon rally.”**
When the game ended, it took Bican and Principal S. A. Pepper 20 minutes to break through the many well-wishers to celebrate the Lions’ first section title in football. When they arrived at the locker room, the team went crazy.
“The Lions coach waited for the cheering to subside. Bican tried to speak but was choked up with emotion before he finally said, ‘My 45 boys all looked good.’ My boys all blocked in excellent fashion and we were ready for this one.’”**

Great athletes
The 1948 graduating class had many outstanding athletes. Section championships were won in football and track, a tie with Sacramento for the baseball championship, and the basketball team led by Rasmussen, Dick Balfour and Matulich won the northern section, but lost to Stockton for the Sac Joaquin title.
Roger Osenbaugh* and Jim Westlake would go on to play professional baseball with the Solons.
Balfour would win the section pole vault and Pappa would win the section 100 and 220 for the third straight year.
Pappa would go on to UC Berkeley and score two touchdowns in the 1951 “Big Game” and play in two Rose Bowls.
Rasmussen would become a star running back at Santa Clara, and King would be a starter at Stanford and play in the 1952 Rose Bowl.
However, 65 years later, I think I remember Rasmussen dashing for long gains, Pappa chasing Barsanti over 60 yards to catch him on the nine, crushing hits by King and Sampson, and Geremia throwing darts to Rowland, Rasmussen, Matulich, and Pappa for big gains.
24,000 people in Hughes Stadium for one exciting, colorful, afternoon – I definitely remember that.

*Denotes Hall of Fame inductees
**Sacramento Bee quotes from sports writer Murray Olderman and Tom Kane

jim@valcomnews.com

The 49th Annual Greek Festival, which will have a new feature of an entertainment stage in the center of the venue, will be held Labor Day weekend at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St., from Friday, Aug. 31 through Sunday, Sept. 2. Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and older, $4 for seniors 55 and older and free for children ages 11 and younger. Admission is also free for anyone attending the event on Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation is not only known for its historic East Sacramento church complex west of McKinley Park, but also for its annual Greek Festival.
And playing an important role in the founding of this event was Eugene Fotos, who was raised in East Sacramento.
Today, the event is recognized as one of the state’s most popular Greek festivals. But the event, which was first held on Nov. 15, 1964, had a much more humble beginning.

The beginning
Cosmas Alliapoulos, who was serving as president of the Greek Community of Sacramento and Vicinity (which was incorporated on Jan. 30, 1920), attended one of the earliest editions of the Greek Festival presented by St. Basil Greek Orthodox Christian Church in Stockton.
The event was first held at the Stockton Civic Auditorium in 1960.
Inspired by St. Basil’s Greek Festival, Alliapoulos asked Fotos, who was already a longtime Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation member, to chair a local food faire.
Fotos accepted the role of the event’s chair and began working with Lillian Psihopaidas, who served as the faire’s co-chair.
This faire, which is recognized as the first Sacramento Greek Festival, was the most modest edition of this now longtime, annual event.
This inaugural event, which was attended by 718 people at the Hellenic Center on Alhambra Boulevard and included a band, dancing and a pastry booth with few sales, netted $2,556.
Fotos said that a large part of this pastry booth’s inability to be successful was due to the fact that people were dancing around the booth.
“Because the people were dancing around the booth, (the booth’s manager) Mrs. (Vasiliki) Manolis, couldn’t sell the pastries,” Fotos recalled. “She had 8-foot tables (to display the pastries). The band started playing and pretty soon people started dancing around the tables and the poor thing, (Manolis), said, ‘I can’t sell. I can’t sell.’”

Eppie at the festival
In 1966, the festival was relocated to the Scottish Rite Temple at 6151 H St.
Among those in attendance at the 1966 festival, which raised $4,200, were Fotos, Bill Demas, Perry Georgallis and Eppie Johnson.
Johnson, who had opened Eppie’s Restaurant and Coffee Shop at 3001 N Street in East Sacramento about two years earlier, drew much attention at the event, as he wore a traditional Greek fustanella – an article of clothing similar to a Scottish kilt.
In remembering Eppie’s appearance at the 1966 festival, Fotos said, “I was shocked after I saw that. I couldn’t believe it. Usually (these fustanellas) are white and blue. But what did Eppie have? He had green or some strange color. And he picked (the color).”
During the latter part of the 1960s and 70s, the site for this event changed several times.
These sites were the Governor’s Hall on the old State Fairgrounds at Stockton Boulevard and Broadway, the Country Club Plaza mall parking lot, Jesuit High School and the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Church, next to the Hellenic Center.
Fotos said that the festival at Jesuit High proved to be a very lengthy affair.
“In those days, we just had a two-day festival – Saturday and Sunday,” Fotos said. “We had to pick up everything, because the school was going to be in session the next day. And we worked, we worked, we worked. There weren’t a lot of us working and we drug everything over to the trucks and loaded them on and we got to the church (in East Sacramento) at 7 (o’clock) in the morning. We worked all night long.”

Cal Expo and beyond
During the early 1980s, the festival was held for a couple of years at Cal Expo.
Fotos vividly recalled the 1981 festival, which proved to be a fairly infamous event.
“Just two days before our festival, an indoor rodeo had been held in the same building we were to use (at Cal Expo),” Fotos said. “The remaining multitude of horseflies and the lingering aromatic scent of horses were almost too much to bear.”
The festival was relocated to its present site at the Sacramento Convention Center in 1984, and four years later, the event’s earnings surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time, as the festival raised $108,657.

Festival food
The festival’s Greek cuisine and desserts collectively serve as a popular draw of the event.
These edibles include dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), souvlaki (meat kabobs), gyros (Greek sandwiches on pita bread), tiropites (cheese puff filo dough triangles), homemade salads, baklava (a rich, flaky filo dough pastry filled with walnuts, butter and cinnamon and soaked in honey) and loukoumathes (honey-dipped donut holes).
Food items such as imported Greek olives, cheeses, crackers, coffees, cookies and candies can also be purchased at the event’s pantopoleon, or Greek grocery store.
Another festival attraction is the agora, or Greek, marketplace, where guests can purchase items such as jewelry, artwork and recorded music.

Other attractions
Also attracting much attention at the festival are Greek dancing groups, who wear festive Greek clothing and perform traditional Greek dances.
As a family-oriented event, the festival also offers various children’s activities.
Fotos, who will turn 80 next month, said that he is proud of the festival’s longtime existence and popularity.
“We are very proud to be of Greek descent and to share our heritage and traditions with Sacramento area people and others,” said Fotos, whose nephew, Father James Retelas, serves as the priest of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation.

Lance@valcomnews.com