Ekmekiçi to serve Turk tastes to world

by Müge Akgün - Referans

refid:11602012 ilişkili resim dosyası

Just 10 years after Veysi Öncel opened the first Ekmekiçi, an İzmir-based fast food eatery that serves traditional Turkish flavors in sandwich form, his business has grown into a chain of almost 20 locations across Turkey. Ekmekiçi took in approximately $10 million in 2008 and Öncel aspires to have 50 branches and to initiate projects abroad by 2010. Öncel’s father, the owner of a bus company, migrated to İzmir from the eastern city of Mardin to further the education of his five children. But Öncel started working while in high school and abandoned his studies, instead working in many different fields. After completing his military service in 1977, Öncel began serving food to business places. In 1991, he established the Çağdaş Catering facility, which could serve 7,000 to 8,000 people; the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality was one of his main clients.

Some time later, Öncel entered the tourism sector and opened a two-star hotel with 60 beds in the Aegean resort of Çeşme. As he earned more money, he upgraded the facility into the five-star, 250-bed Pırıl Hotel. Öncel has been the president of the Çeşme Hoteliers’ Union for 12 years and is also a member of the İzmir Chamber of Trade and the Turkish Industrialists Union, or TÜSİAD.

Why not a Turkish fast food chain?
Noting that Turkey did not have a fast food chain serving traditional tastes like köfte (meatball) and kebab, Öncel opened the first Ekmekiçi in İzmir’s Alsancak district in 1999, quickly expanding to five outlets. Though he did not feel ready to accept franchise requests from other cities until 2008, there are now almost 20 Ekmekiçi restaurants, in İzmir, Ankara, the Aegean city of Aydın, Denizli, Manisa, Salihli, the Mediterranean city of Mersin and other locations. The restaurants employ 450 people and serve 60,000 to 70,000 customers each month. Öncel aims to open 35 new branches this year.

In 2010, Öncel hopes to take Ekmekiçi abroad and is considering starting out in the Scandinavian countries, which don’t yet have fast food kebab shops. He is also building one of Turkey’s first integrated kebab and kokoreç (grilled sheep intestines) facility, a $5 million investment that will be realized in İzmir next year.

Ekmekiçi’s five-person team of food engineers and cooks is traveling around Turkey to find traditional tastes that can be served in a sandwich. All food products are prepared centrally in İzmir. After being frozen at a temperature of minus 40 degrees C, they are distributed to the other branches. Sandwich offerings include kokoreç, Adana or Urfa kebab, beyti kebab, and köfte. A new item, kömbe, is prepared with ground meat, chicken and vegetables and wrapped in thin, crispy bread. Ekmekiçi is also known for its Mardin-style meatballs stuffed with cracked wheat and its künefe, a pastry stuffed with cheese and covered with sweet syrup.