The coffee shop at 208 South St. near Chauncey Hill Mall in West Lafayette is a familiar scene on a Thursday night with small groups of people enjoying intellectual conversation and a smoke outside.   Inside, it is quieter.   There are three or four tables with students cramming for their last exams before October break begins.  

Huseyin Akcay, another familiar fixture for the shop, appears from behind the counter wearing a black hat, hair in a ponytail, sporting his usual 5 ’o clock shadow and carrying a large latte.

The 37-year-old co-owner of Vienna Café and doctoral student has spent the last 11 years making West Lafayette his home.   Although this will probably just be a temporary rest for Akcay, it is home for now, said Akcay.

Akcay is originally from a small town called Bingol in Eastern Turkey.   It means “1,000 lakes,” named for all of the small lakes surrounding it, said Akcay.   He has spent most of his life moving to new places and getting used to new people.   Although his move to the United States was the biggest move for him, Akcay was able to fit in, and become a partner in a successful business.

The road to being a successful business owner was surprisingly short for Akcay.   In fact, everything seemed to fall into place for him during his short time in the U.S.   He completed his undergraduate degree in Istanbul in forestry engineering, said Akcay.  

In Turkey, it is very competitive just to have the opportunity to go to school.   He was smart enough and worked hard enough to earn a scholarship from the government to come to Purdue University, said Akcay.   He did not speak any English so they sent him to Indiana State University for a summer where he lived with American students and was submerged in American culture.

“I didn’t know anything.   I didn’t speak English.   I didn’t even know how to order food,” said Akcay, remembering his first day in the U.S.  

Someone from the language school was at the airport to pick him up, and a nice woman at a fast food restaurant helped him get dinner, Akcay said.   From that point forward, he was on his own.

There were many new things that Akcay had to adjust to in order to fit in.   The humidity was the first thing that he noticed, said Akcay.   In his hometown of Bingol, there are four seasons, but they do not have stifling humidity like in Indiana.  

Bingol looks similar to Denver with mountains, plateaus and a lot of snow, so coming to the Midwest was very different for Akcay.

Another difference was evident in the buildings.   In Turkey, there are ruins in every town and city, said Akcay.   There is evidence of each civilization that ruled in the history of Turkey.   Some of these civilizations are Hittite, Greek and Ottoman.  

The U.S. does, however, have something that can compete with Turkey.   It has the largest expanse of nature that Akcay has ever seen.   He has taken the time to travel the U.S. and when he saw the Grand Canyon, he said he was “speechless.”

After finishing his master’s degree, Akcay literally got lucky.   He won the lottery.   It was not exactly the kind of lottery that we think of when we hear “lottery.”   He didn’t win the Indiana Powerball lottery.   He won a visa to stay in the U.S. in a lottery, said Akcay.   About a million people applied, and only 1,000 won.    Akcay was one of those 1,000 lucky winners.  

Since he was able to stay in the U.S., he arranged to pay the Turkish government back for his scholarship, and began his doctoral degree in forestry and natural resources, said Akcay.

In 1999, Akcay met Ilhan, the owner of Vienna Café, through a friend.   He began working there as a cook.   Shortly afterward, the other partners left, and Akcay was able to buy shares in the company.   Today, he and Ilhan are the only two owners of the successful café.  

When the coffee house opened, it didn’t have any competition in West Lafayette.   Now, there are several competitors, but the business still does well.

Lindsey Staniszeski has been working at Vienna Café for about one year and has been very happy there.

   “He’s here all the time and he would never ask you to do something that he wouldn’t do himself,” she said.

Akcay prides himself on personally knowing all of his employees and most of his regular customers.

“I know 95 percent of our customers,” said Akcay looking around.

This is how he keeps customers.   Of the 11 people in the shop Thursday night, he knows nine of them.

Holly Wise is a senior in the School of Management at Purdue, and has been coming to Vienna Café since she got here.

“He always remembers my face,” she said of Akcay.

Now, Akcay is part owner of the oldest coffee shop in West Lafayette as well as Soffra, the new Turkish restaurant at the corner of State Street and South River Road.   When he is not at Vienna Café, he is spending time with his niece and nephew who are students at Purdue.

He has helped both his niece and nephew because he has had a lot of people help him in his life.   In his culture, it is very important to help friends and family succeed because friends and family have helped you succeed, said Akcay.

Akcay does not know when he will be leaving West Lafayette, but he will not come to rest here.   When he is ready, he will continue to travel.   He is not sure if he will move to Turkey or Europe or stay in the United States.   He wouldn’t mind seeing New Zealand, he said, but “who knows,” said Akcay, smiling.