Cranberries bringing American dining experience to Jasper

When Cranberries opens up in the former Azura location on Third Avenue in Jasper, owner Besim Saliji will be serving specialty omelets, fresh hashbrowns, and thick slabs of bacon for breakfast. Plus, patrons will have a choice of soups — two homemade daily — wraps, burgers and more for lunch. Fridays will be set aside for a special evening menu of steak and fish.

When Besim saw Azura was for sale in one of the industry publications he scans regularly, it was an opportunity to do something a little different in the industry the 46-year-old has been involved in most of his life.

Besim is originally from Croatia, close to Macedonia. He grew up watching his grandfather operate a busy bakery until he sold it. Then, around 2000, he and his family moved to Indiana, where some of his siblings had already settled.

The food profession became the family’s passion, and Besim helped found Benjamin’s Family Restaurant in Rossville before the company moved to Rockville, Ind. About ten years later, he moved to Covington, Ind., where Besim helped his sister and brother-in-law establish Benjamin’s Family Restaurant of Covington.

Restaurants run deep in the family; besides the Benjamin’s Family Restaurants, Besim’s cousin operates American Table Family Dining in Washington.

Coming from Croatia has given Besim an appreciation for multiculturalism. “I was blessed,” he explained. “Croatia is a busy tourist place. In the summertime, they come from all over Europe.”

Through that background, Besim can speak multiple languages, including German, Spanish, and Greek.

Since moving to the United States, Besim has been working in these family restaurants putting in a lot of long hours. With his daughter Sara finishing up college at IU, and his son, Bleron, in the middle of high school now, Besim began looking for a way to continue working in the restaurant industry but with a reduction of hours.

“I was looking for a place — breakfast, lunch, you know,” he said. “I was working 70-80 hours a week. The restaurant business is hard. I didn’t see my kids growing.”

Azura fits his vision of an American-style diner serving great breakfast and lunch — don’t worry, giros, baklava, roasted chicken, lamb and other traditional Greek dishes will be included as specials.

There will be a lot of choices regardless of what meal you decide to eat there. Besim’s specialty is omelets, and he loves hashbrowns, so expect great hashbrowns. There will be pancakes, waffles, ham, sausage and bacon. “I got the good bacon,” he added, pointing out that happy customers eat more and return.

That breakfast menu will be available at any time, too. “You come at three o’clock, and you can have biscuits and gravy. If you are here on Friday night, you can have biscuits and gravy,” Besim said.

He will also have plate lunches for lunch with third-pound and special half-pound burgers, wraps, fresh salads and other specials that come with sides. “No chips,” he emphasized. “Tater tots, french fries, cole slaw, fruit, hashbrowns, things like that.”

Sundays will feature turkey and gravy and all the fixings.

Besim feels that Cranberries is filling a niche in the local restaurant offerings with the menu he is developing. “You can come here anytime and get something different to eat,” he explained. “You won’t get tired of our food.”

He and his wife, Zemi, will be joined by other family members to operate Cranberries. That family connection is important to Besim, who sees it as a lynchpin for the business to do well in the current economy. “My wife is here, my cousin is here, my daughter, my son, they know every position (in the restaurant),” he said. “I can make everything from scratch; anything.”

“I grew up with this,” Besim added before joking that he’s so stupid he can’t do anything else.

He can’t wait to open up. “I love the people,” he said.

Besim expects to be operating from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, with extended hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday — this is all in development, and he plans on adjusting hours as he gets on his feet.

A date for opening hasn’t been announced yet, and the interior of Azura is getting currently getting a facelift with additional seating and a new layout. You can follow along on Facebook below.