Sonia Odicho sits inside the Oasis Grill at 4332 Main St. in Denair and greets her customers as they enter the small, 18-seat eatery.

Typically, Odicho would be behind the counter taking orders, but she’s seated at a table, her long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.

After working at the Oasis Grill for 20 years — and owning the establishment for the past 15 — Odicho and her husband, Tony, are putting the business up for sale. Not that you’d know by looking at the buildings. There’s no sign that indicates as much. 

“I’m not advertising it,” says Odicho. “I’m not in a hurry. If it happens, it happens. I’m not pushing it.”

After talking with Odicho, you get the impression that she actually hopes it doesn’t happen, though she would like to spend more time with her daughters, ages 12, 10 and 9.

“Most of my life is here, in Denair,” she says.

Odicho, a native of Beirut, left Lebanon in 1999 to seek a better life in the United States. The petition process had been started 10 years prior to her departure, and when the time came, she was sent to live with her uncle, Jack Odicho, owner of the Papachino’s restaurants in Turlock and Modesto.

“I didn’t know a single word of English,” says Odicho. “Actually, I knew ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ But that’s it.”

She went to work for her uncle and, by 2003, she was working at Oasis Grill in Denair. Five years later, she owned the restaurant.

And in her 20 years there, she’s become a fixture in the community.

Turlocker Matt McFarlane and Modesto’s Lance Bauman stopped by for lunch Tuesday and were greeted warmly by Odicho.

“I used to live just down the street,” says McFarlane. “I come here for the people, for sure. And the food is amazing. It’s a good combination of both.”

Odicho and McFarland talk about their children — they have kids the same age — and how McFarlane doesn’t stop by as much since he’s moved closer to Hilmar.

Not long after, Denair resident Anthony Price enters the restaurant. He doesn’t have to say a word. Odicho knows what he’ll be ordering — a chicken burger.

“They know me,” says Price. “They know what I’m going to get. The customer service is really good here. I’m a fan.”

Odicho has a lot of fans. Some have even offered to buy the restaurant, as long as she continues to operate it.

Jarvin Aivaz, who works next door at One Start Auto Service, eats at the Oasis Grill two or three times a week. When he enters the restaurant, Odicho quips, “It’s only Tuesday.” 

She explains: “He only likes Thursdays and Fridays.”

Aivaz, a tall, balding man with a thick beard and a naturally forlorn look, confirms this about himself.

“Thursday at 6 o’clock and Friday … I’m fine,” he says, before breaking out in a grin that belies his dour demeanor. Arvaiz picks up the bag of food that is waiting for him and makes the 50-yard walk back to the garage.

“I’ve built a lot of stories in here,” says Odicho.

Her Uncle Jack, who was like a father to her when she arrived in the U.S. passed away in 2019. She knows that he was proud of her and what she built.

“He told me so,” says Odicho, her dark brown eyes welling with tears. “And other people told me that he told them he was proud of me.”

Odicho has six sisters still in Lebanon, all of whom long ago began petitioning for entry into the U.S. If her sisters were here, the Oasis would not be for sale.

“If they were here, I would never sell,” she says. “They would help me and we could grow way more. But if everything is easy, then nothing is good.”

Odicho pauses a long moment after saying this, as if to ascertain whether you really understand the impact of her words.

“It’s the struggle,” she says philosophically. “You have to fight for what you want.”