For most corporations, philanthropy is a natural part of giving back to the community that has supported their success. We hear about the Goodyears and Timkens making sizable contributions to charitable organizations. Among larger companies, donations can be advantageous for both their community and their bottom line.
For smaller businesses, often struggling to make payroll and pay suppliers, regular donations of profits are the exception, not the rule.
Zobby Miktarian, owner of Joe’s All Star Cafe, is continuing a family tradition of breaking that mold. His East Market Street bar has been the unlikely home to some of Akron’s finest philanthropists for close to 80 years.
The tradition of giving started there in 1920, when Kachig “Joe” Miktarian, without a formal education, opened an ice cream parlor. He quickly gained a reputation for giving ice cream to children, whether or not they could pay for it. Once Prohibition ended, Joe purchased one of Akron’s first liquor licenses and the establishment became known as Joe’s All Star Cafe.
It was one day during the early years, selling confectioneries, that a group of kids came in and asked the owner if he would sponsor their basketball team. According to a newspaper clipping still hanging on the wall, Joe didn’t even know what basketball was, but obliged the children and bought them T-shirts emblazoned with “Joe’s All Stars.”
That was the start of a continuing trend of Akron sports sponsorships for Joe’s. One year, the bar sponsored more than 30 bowling teams.
“Dad never said no,” says 72-year-old Zobby Miktarian, Joe’s son, who runs the bar with brothers Mike and Paul. “When somebody came in and said, ‘You wanna sponsor us in bowling?’, dad said, ‘Sure.’”
The bar houses an impressive collection of close to 400 sports trophies, the oldest dated 1946-47 from the Massillon Intercity Basketball Tournament. Zobby points out there would be more, but they didn’t make trophies during the war.
There are also commendations hanging on the wall. In October of 1965, Joe, along with Jim Schlemmer, sports editor of the Akron Beacon Journal, was the first recipient of the Andy Palich Memorial Award from the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame for contributions to sports in Akron.
In 1990, Joe also received the Bill Schlemmer Memorial Award, “in recognition of outstanding service and contributions to the betterment of sports in the Akron area.”
But the family’s biggest contributions have nothing to do with sports. Over the past 20 years, Joe’s All Star Cafe has donated more than $200,000 to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“I didn’t even know what MS was when I first started,” Zobby said. He later discovered that he had family members suffering from the disease.
For the next 20 years, Zobby and Joe’s All Star were a fixture in the U.G.L.Y. Bartender Contest, in which one dollar equals one vote. U.G.L.Y. stands for understanding, generous, lovable and young-at-heart.
“Every chance I get, I sell something. Beer signs, whatever,” Zobby says. He also held reverse raffles, a 10-mile walk-a-thon, Scotch doubles bowling tournaments and other events to raise money for MS.
His efforts have landed him as the No. 1 contributor in Ohio for the past 12 years, and last year, Zobby was ranked eighth in the nation.
“He raises so much money for us, he pulls us through every year,” says Christy Harst, special event assistant at the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Zobby is modest about his contributions and credits his wife Peggy, children Patty, Zavin and Cheryl, and his brothers for helping with his philanthropic efforts. But beneath his humbleness, he is very proud of his achievements, demonstrated by his license plate, which reads UGLY ZM.
He also doesn’t forget where the money comes from.
“I’ve got the greatest customers when it comes to that,” he says. “I tell ’em, ‘Give me some money for MS,’ and they turn it over.”
On April 21, 1990, Rep. Tom Sawyer honored Zobby, declaring that day “Zobby Miktarian Day” in Akron. “To recognize his personal contributions to the life of the community,” Sawyer says. “Zobby is just a tremendous human being. It shows in his family and his work.”
Sawyer first met Zobby when Sawyer was mayor and was immediately taken in by his charm and success as a fund-raiser.
“He doesn’t have enormous resources to do it,” Sawyer says. “He just brings people to the task. He has an enormously diverse clientele, but all that he asks from everyone is that they donate to MS.”
So how does one of Akron’s smallest bars regularly outdo every other bar in Ohio in the U.G.L.Y. Bartender Contest? The secret is the true generosity and kindness that radiates from Zobby. As his customers say, his big heart affects every person who walks through the door.
“You can’t find a better guy than Zobby,” says one patron. “He’s done a lot of things for a lot of people.”
The U.G.L.Y. Bartender Contest kicks off this month. To join or contribute to MS, call 800-FIGHT-MS.