
July 15, 2024
APPLETON – Over the past three decades, the Useini family has owned and operated various family restaurants in the Fox Valley.
At just 12 years old, Ali Useini said he had already begun working at his father Leo’s restaurant.
Useini said it didn’t take long for him to decide his future was in the restaurant industry.
“I had a choice – (go to college) after I graduated high school or continue with my dad’s restaurant business,” he said. “And I said to myself, ‘why go to school when I can jump into the game and be my own boss?”
Armed with the years of experience he learned from his dad, Useini opened two breakfast spots – the Apple Valley Pancake Houses.
The Neenah location opened last September, with the Appleton location following in March.
The road to today
Useini said his father opened the Corner Café in Edgerton (Rock and Dane County) after moving to Wisconsin from Albania.
As a middle schooler, Useini said he worked alongside his brother, Sam, scrubbing dishes and doing odd jobs in the kitchen.
“We’d attend school until 3 p.m., then wash dishes and play basketball,” he said. “School, restaurants, sports – all throughout the ’90s.”
Useini said shortly after he graduated high school in 1999, his father sold the Corner Café and converted a former A&W Restaurant into a family-style restaurant called Mounds View Family Restaurant in Mount Horeb.
He said the restaurant was an immediate success, with customers lining up outside and waiting to be seated.
“It was a lot of work,” he said. “I remember dishwashers who would quit after two days because it was so busy, and then I’d be the one washing 20 bins of dishes.”

Useini said he continued working hard for and with his dad every day – eventually deciding it was time for him to venture out on his own.
“Throughout the years, working 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day became too many hours and not enough time with family,” he said. “So, we decided to specialize in breakfast and lunch, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. pancake houses.”
Though Useini and his brother owned and operated separate restaurants over the years, he said the two always maintained a supportive relationship with each other.
“Partnerships can be hard, especially with family,” he said. “We have a better family relationship without being partners. Having our own places but still helping each other out.”
One example of this was supporting each other through the beloved Wisconsin Friday fish fry.
“He would run out of fish, and I’d have some extra, so we’d drive halfway to meet each other to help each other with food,” Useini said. “That’s what it took – working together.”
Useini said he and his brother also continue to support each other personally.
“We live in the same neighborhood and mow each other’s lawns,” he said. “We still help each other. If I’m well-staffed and somebody applies here, I’ll send them his way and vice versa.”
Useini said he opened the first Apple Valley Pancake House in Appleton in 2016.
However, when the lease ended for the building the restaurant was in, he said he decided to take a break from the restaurant business.
In 2023, Useini said he decided to try again – this time setting up shop in Neenah in the former Bradtke’s restaurant (1022 Main St.).
Shortly after, Useini said the owner of Home Run Pizza in Appleton retired and asked him if he’d like to open a second location.
Jumping at the chance, he opened Apple Valley’s second location at 1216 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton this past spring.
Settling into breakfast
Useini said his years of restaurant knowledge culminated in the creation of the Apple Valley Pancake Houses, which serve breakfast and lunch seven days a week.
The two locations, he said, share near-identical menus – offering pancakes, omelets, skillets, crepes, soups and more.
“We specialize in building your own skillet and customizing it,” he said. “As for the coffee, my family has used the same bean for the last 20 or 30 years – we grind it every morning.”
Useini said he credits his success as a business owner to his years of experience working his way up the ladder in the restaurant industry.

Useini said his favorite item is a diner staple – the coffee.
“The coffee is amazing,” he said. “I drink three or four cups a morning.”
Useini said the only difference between the two menus is their beverages – with the Appleton location serving alcohol, including mimosas and beer.
So far, he said the restaurants have been successful due to three focuses: good service, great food and a clean establishment.
“Even if you have a $5-million beautiful location, if you don’t have good food, customers aren’t going to come to the restaurant,” he said. “Who cares if you’ve got this beautiful place if you’re not providing them with good service and good food?”
Looking onward
Though Useini said he was eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, he thinks it’s unlikely his children will do the same.
“They don’t make guys like us anymore, where you’re not afraid to cook, clean and work extra,” he said. “But that’s okay. If they go to school and get a good career, like most parents tell their kids, that’s fine, too.”
Currently, Useini said his eldest daughter is pursuing a neuroscience degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“She’s helped me since she was 12 – rolling silverware and seating people,” he said. “So has my little daughter – she’s helping bus tables and learning how to be on her own one day. And my son, too.”
Useini said he hopes his children’s experiences in the restaurant help them to build a strong work ethic and an understanding of how life works away from their screens.
“It’s up to me to get them in here and help, let them know how it is,” he said. “They’ll know then if they like the restaurant business or not.”
Both Apple Valley Pancake House locations are open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.
For a look at the menu, visit applevalleypancakehouse.com.