EP 10 - AB Hillbilly Gyros & AB Ice Cream Parlor

In today's episode of Whidbey Island Living, we’re getting an exclusive look into the life of Jessie Abrahamson, the passionate owner behind AB Hillbilly Gyros & AB Icecream Parlor. From navigating challenges by being a mom and juggling the business, Jessie’s dedication shines through in every detail. Watch as she shares her journey from being a service crew to managing a booming business of food trucks and restaurants.

🌟𝙂𝙀𝙏 𝘼 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝙏𝙊 𝙒𝙄𝙉 𝘼 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀 𝙈𝙀𝘼𝙇 𝙒𝙃𝙀𝙉 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙎𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙑𝙄𝘿𝙀𝙊🌟
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𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙉𝙀𝙍 𝙒𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘽𝙀 𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙀𝘿 𝙊𝙉 𝙁𝙀𝘽𝙍𝙐𝘼𝙍𝙔 26, 2025 🎉

GOODLUCK!


AB Hillbilly Gyros & AB Icecream Parlor: https://www.abshillbillygyros.com/
Jessie Abrahamson:   / jessie.abrahamson   

Reid Schwartz is not just a real estate broker; he’s a dedicated leader and active participant in the Whidbey Island community. A Navy veteran and 30-year island resident, Reid brings a unique perspective and deep-rooted passion to his work. As a proud Rotarian and a founding board member of North Whidbey Hearts and Hammers, he’s committed to making a difference in the lives of those around him. He also serves as the organization’s Public Relations Director, always on the lookout for volunteers eager to give back.

Whether it’s helping clients buy or sell their homes, connecting locals with community resources, or creating opportunities for neighbors to support one another, Reid is driven by a desire to make Whidbey Island a better place. He’s always looking for creative ways to help—whether it’s growing local businesses or offering a hand to those in need. For Reid, it’s about more than just real estate; it’s about building a stronger, more connected community through kindness, collaboration, and service.

Reid can be reached:
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: reidschwartz.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone.
I am Reed Schwartz with eXpRealty and today on Whidbey
Island Living.
I'm here with Jessie Abrahamson.
She's the owner, founder of ABHillbilly Euros and now AB's Ice
Cream Parlor.
So we're going to have aconversation about Jessie's
background and what got herstarted in the restaurant

(00:21):
business, and maybe she'll evenshare her secret recipe and
stick around till the very endand you'll have the opportunity
to get a free meal with abhillbilly euros that'll be good.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
It's gonna be good.
Well, you've been open.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
You're getting ready to reopen yes, shortly okay.
So, jesse, every restaurant hasa great story.
What brought you and gave youthe brainstorm to open AB
Hillbilly Heroes?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, I am a longtime resident of Oak River and I was
a young mother and I was havinganother baby.
So I needed a job and my friendtold me about a place hiring
down the road from me.
So I came downtown to thislocation and applied for a job

(01:08):
and I had no idea what euroswere.
I thought they were churros, soapparently I didn't know what
churros were either.
Anyway, so I go in and it was ahot sandwich place and so I was
intrigued and I talked to theowner and I started working
there and I stayed there forquite a few years and went out
on the food truck with them andI really enjoyed it and I ended

(01:34):
up given the opportunity to takeover another food truck because
the owner of this locationwanted to retire out of her food
truck and just keep thepermanent location.
So I said sure, so took over herfood truck and got those events
.
So then I was running two foodtrucks eventually.

(01:57):
Then she wanted to retire outof her permanent location and
then she offered me theopportunity to take over the
permanent location.
It was a really good experience.
I learned a lot.
It gave me the confidence to doit by myself, which is a big
thing in itself.
Thinking you can do it andactually doing it is a whole
other ballgame.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
There is yeah, exactly, there is a big
difference there.
It's a lot of work, a lot oforganization, a lot of things.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
A lot of failure.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
A lot of failure.
A lot of work, a lot oforganization, a lot of things, a
lot of failure, a lot offailure.
So running a restaurant isn'teasy.
Has there been some uh,stumbling blocks and lessons
learned along the way?

Speaker 2 (02:34):
oh, absolutely.
You know, um, when you'redealing on the road is one thing
, because you're dealing withseveral different health
departments.
They all have their own littleinterpretation of the law, so
that's really difficultsometimes.
But if you keep a good rapportand you talk with your health
department, you learn to knowwhat their expectations are.

(02:56):
So you go not going into itblind.
Because there are several,they're not all the same.
You might use time astemperature control in one and
the other county says absolutelynot.
You can't do this, and so itcould be frustrating.
But if you ask the questionsbeforehand, that can eliminate
some of those hiccups and makeit go smoother.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
So your restaurant gets pretty busy.
You got a lot of traffic comingin at lunchtime.
I've seen your trailer up atfestivals.
There's a big line.
So is there some secret recipethat you have that brings
everybody in?
Well, we try to do a gourmetsandwich at a fast food rate.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
We want to get it in, get it out fast, get people
moving, get people eating.
We have a very small locationso you can't have too many
people in there at the same time.
It can get quite crowded, sospeed is our best friend.
You know, there are days thatwe have our challenges where our
fryer will be messing up orsomething like that, and most of

(04:02):
the time the community isgraceful with us.
Sometimes not, you know, butyou know you can't please
everybody, but you do your best,okay.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
What's your specialty ?
What's your favorite recipe?

Speaker 2 (04:15):
So the hillbilly is our most popular gyro.
It comes with the lamb, beef,bacon, lettuce, tomato, grilled
onions.
We also have a good variety ofvegetarian food, so my personal
favorite is the falafel sandwich.
It's very good.
Oh my goodness, it's so good.
And you feel good after you eatgyros, you, you're not bogged
down, You're not feeling like,oh, I need to go take a nap.

(04:37):
You know you get your as longas you only eat one, yeah, and
the fries.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
And the fries.
So, jesse, if someone wascoming to visit your restaurant
for the very first time, whatwould be something they would
absolutely have to try?

Speaker 2 (04:54):
They would definitely have to try the fries for sure.
The fries are like the biggesthit.
Even people who don't reallycare for gyros that much will
come and get the fries, you know.
So that's awesome and they areso good.
What sets our fries apart fromother fries is the seasoning
that we put on, and then we ageour feta and we grind it and so

(05:16):
you get a lot more on there thanmost places.
You know, we don't justsprinkle a little bit, we cover
it with the grated feta cheese.
I love feta cheese.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
So when people cook from home, it's not quite always
the same, because sometimesthey're missing some secret
ingredient.
What's the secret ingredientthat you use in your cooking?

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Well, you need to be patient with yourself, first of
all, because Greek food is apatient food.
Everything is so has to be doneright.
Baflaval you have to layer itand you have to put it put the
sauce on at the right time.
You know stuff like that toZigi sauce as well.
You know you have to take yourtime and do it correctly,

(06:01):
because if you're not doing itcorrectly then it's going to be
runny or you're just not goingto have the consistency that you
want.
So I would say patience.

Speaker 1 (06:10):
Secret ingredient?

Speaker 2 (06:11):
It is it really is, Because most everything is
simple.
You can follow a recipe, butyou need to be patient because
you know if it says wait untilcool and then pour it on, or
vice versa.
Right, right.
Don't jump ahead, don't getcrazy.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
So home cooking is great, but cooking having food
made by the experts is evenbetter.
So what is one mistake that alot of home cooks make when
they're making food?

Speaker 2 (06:41):
I'm not really sure, because Greek food is particular
and so if they don't feelcomfortable making something,
they just come to me for it.
So if they want a special kindof pita, they'll come and get
pita.
I've had um.
One of um our guests wasroasting a whole goat and so he,

(07:02):
he had the goat, but he wantedeverything else, all the
toppings and stuff, from ourplace.
So, and then he'd come in andyou know what seasoning should I
use?
And I was like, oh, use mints.
And you know what seasoningshould I use?
And I was like, oh, use mints.
And do you know, I got reallyexcited and was very eager to
help him out with this adventure.
He went on.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
That sounds like an adventure.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah.
So I mean that's really cool,you know, being able to interact
with the community that way,and that they trust my advice
when it comes to it, and so um,as we get towards this secret
recipe, you know, and maybe theopportunity to come get a meal
here, what would be your?

Speaker 1 (07:41):
what recipe really defines your restaurant that
you'd be willing to share witheverybody?
So you can play with this athome?

Speaker 2 (07:50):
So again I bring up the tzatziki sauce, because it's
the staple in Greek food.
Everyone well, not everyone,but a lot of people really enjoy
it.
It's a thick, creamy.
It's a cucumber garlic sauce.
It's a guilt-free sauce.
It's made with nonfat Greekyogurt, so you really can put
anything you want in it,honestly.

(08:11):
But to make like a traditionaltzatziki sauce, the trick is to
strain your yogurt throughcheesecloth.
You'll be amazed how much brinecomes out.
Even if you don't think there'sa lot of brine in your yogurt,
you'll be shocked.
That little bit of brine willkeep that tzatziki sauce from

(08:32):
getting that really thick andcreamy consistency that you
really want.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
If you enjoyed this like this, make a comment down
below and share it with a friend.
Share this video and you'll getentered into a drawing.
Jesse's giving away a $20 giftcertificate for lunch for
somebody, so be the winner.
Share this video, put it outthere and we look forward to
seeing you on the next editionof Windy Island Living.