Profile: S.C. Johnny Konuk

By Dawne Belloise

I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like cooking for himself, but I love to cook for other people,” Johnny Konuck laughs. “Think about it, I cook for hundreds of people daily so do I want to cook for myself? It’s like the plumber who doesn’t fix his own pipes.”

Throughout his travels, his philosophy has led Johnny across continents, kitchens, cultures and careers and eventually landed him in Crested Butte as the newest owner of the much-loved Mikey’s Pizza as of November 10 last year. His story begins thousands of miles and cultures away with a childhood steeped in a loving family, food and his curiosity.

Johnny was born in Turkey to a close family who owned a restaurant. His father is Turkish; his mother is Bosnian. When he was four, the family moved to Istanbul because his father was transferred there as a government worker. “I’m from the richest country in history,” Johnny says, referring to its culture, not its money. “Turkey is the bridge between Europe and Asia, and it’s surrounded by seas. It’s like a cultural cocktail.”

Johnny grew up with an older brother and sister, describing himself as, “a very active and naughty child,” who was happiest outdoors riding bikes, fishing near the family’s summer home by the sea and spending long summers with his grandmother. “My grandmother raised me, and she was the most amazing cook I’ve ever known,” he says. “She made her own apple cider vinegar for years by adding apple peels, a pinch of salt and a little water. In my home, we make our own pickles, tomato paste, olive oil and breakfast spreads. I learned how to appreciate food by watching my father and learning from my grandmother.”

Family remains central to Johnny’s life and despite living thousands of miles away, he talks to his parents daily. “My dad tells me what he cooked that day and we go into deep detail about our days,” he says. “There’s a 10-hour time difference in winter, nine in summer but my family is very close. I owe a lot of my capabilities to them.”

Food became Johnny’s path almost by accident. At just 12 years old, he was eager to help in the family restaurant. One day, while he was carrying hot tea to a table, the restaurant manager reprimanded him because he was underage and not allowed to serve. It was a liability issue but, “That moment changed my life,” he says. “I decided to go downstairs and work in the kitchen. All because I wanted to help and be part of the family.” But that experience inspired his path. “It gave me a fabulous career in life,” he says. “So I’m grateful.” Although he’s mostly self-taught, Johnny worked many prep jobs, attended workshops with chefs and absorbed knowledge wherever he could. He planned to study food science, also known as food engineering, but his love of cooking had already taken hold.

Growing up, Johnny says he was a bookworm by nature and read constantly. He studied at an Islamic school for several years then transferred to a private high school to prepare for college. In 2017, he earned a scholarship to a private university in Turkey. He also committed to learning English from prep school through college. “I read English books and watched English movies,” he says. “When you see Al Pacino yell, you know. My credo was, do not be afraid, just speak.” That confidence opened a door to the J-1 student exchange program where his first taste of the U.S. was Crested Butte in 2018, when he was just 19 years old.

He had three job offers, in Austin, West Virginia and Crested Butte. But the Coal Creek Grill was the only one that involved cooking, which is what ultimately led Johnny to his decision to come to the end of the road in a small mountain town. “I wanted to learn American food,” he says. He arrived in Crested Butte that summer and was promoted from prep cook to line cook within two weeks. “I knew it was a small town in the Rockies,” he says, “but I chose it because I was so sick of overcrowded cities and traffic. I wanted a place where everybody knew each other.” He devoured American food culture intellectually and practically, learning about Cajun cuisine, Texas barbecue, New York street food, California’s Mexican influences and the European traditions that became distinctly American. “I wanted to see how they do things,” he says and adds, “Not just burgers and fries.”

Johnny returned to Turkey to start college while working simultaneously as a restaurant manager and a hotel banquet sous chef. The following year, he returned to the U.S. to attend college in Houston where he had friends with a pizzeria. When Covid shut everything down in 2020, Johnny returned to Crested Butte. Coal Creek reopened with limited capacity, and he stepped in as a manager during one of the busiest summers the restaurant had ever seen, despite the pandemic. “Doug took me under his wing,” Johnny says. “He taught me the majority of what I know about American cooking and everything in-between.”

That November, Coal Creek closed due to a property dispute. “That year, with consultation from my family, we decided migration to the U.S. made sense for me,” he says. “It was a big decision but a smart one at the time.” He decided to stay, getting all the appropriate documentation.

Johnny was then hired at Elk Avenue Prime, only to face more upheaval when the building was sold. “I did everything to survive,” he says. “Cooking shifts around town, even construction for a bit.” Eventually, he returned to Elk Avenue Prime as executive sous chef in early 2021, working 80-hour weeks, which was, “Pretty normal there,” he says.

In February of 2022, Johnny started his own catering business, Mt. Kaz Catering, which he named after a Turkish mountain range. He cooked for weddings, birthdays, private dinners and large public events. When a potential space fell through, he took another position in Russellville, Arkansas, managing and a partial owner of a 350-seat restaurant for 18 months. “We showed up, did our thing and made it operational without us,” he says. “But I missed my mountains.” Following his heart, he returned to Crested Butte in July of 2024.

In February 2025, Johnny began working at Mikey’s Pizza, which also became the commissary kitchen for his catering and shawarma food truck operations. The shawarma and falafel (a mediterranean food) trailer was set up at Alpenglow concerts, the farmers market and late night outside of Kochevar’s Thursday through Saturday from May through the summer. By June, he was also managing Mikey’s. Now, as the owner, “We haven’t changed a lot. We went back to the original Mikey ways of making pizza with help from Mary Larson (Mikey’s widow) and Matisse.”

Honoring how deeply Mikey’s presence shaped the community and his legacy matters deeply to Johnny. “It was devastating in 2020 when we lost Mikey. I want people to know Mikey’s legend is being honored,” Johnny says. “I never knew him, so I ask people about him. I’ve read everything I could find.”

Johnny grounds his life in four sayings from a man he deeply respects who is a close friend of his father. “Whatever you do, try to be the best at it. Whatever you know how to share, whether it’s time, money or knowledge, share it. Whatever you have, do not waste it. And wherever you are in life, be thankful for it.” These words have shaped his life. “They bring humbleness and make us realize how small we are and how big the world is,” he says.

Johnny has chosen Crested Butte as home for the long haul but also feels the changes and growth of CB’s community. “I want the town I lived in back in 2018. It’s probably not going to happen, but I’ll do anything in my power to keep the community alive.” He talks about friends and community members who’ve been priced out, about trades and food swaps, about camaraderie.

“Community is the most important thing CB has,” he says. “And it’s still here. I try a little more to keep that going. I’m here for whatever you need.” When he walks into his home on Third Street (forever known as Aunt Dorothy’s house), Johnny says he can feel the lives of the miners who once thrived in Crested Butte and shaped the town itself. “Every time I walk in, it feels like home,” he says. “There’s 149 years of history in these walls.” It’s why his parent company is called Forest Queen Food and Beverage LLC, a tribute to the building where he once lived and originally fell in love with the valley.

Mikey’s serves pizza seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breakfast burritos are available Monday through Friday until noon, with weekends in the works. Johnny is also active online at mikeyspizza.net, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok where he creates his trademark lively and fun videos for Mikey’s. He doesn’t take much time off but last year he took Mother’s Day off for a trip to Las Vegas to see Dead & Company at the Sphere. Johnny says that what keeps him going circles back to where it all began — family, food and sharing it with others. “I don’t like cooking for myself,” he reiterates and smiles adding, “But cooking for people? That’s everything.”