BizHawk: LOKUM, a Turkish Coffee and Treats Shop, Opens on State Street in Santa Barbara
State Street in Santa Barbara has another place to drink coffee, but don't expect any flavored shots, whipped cream or anything resembling a frappuccino.
LOKUM, a Turkish coffee and treats shop, opened a week ago at 1019 State St.
"This idea we started thinking about three years ago," said Bulent Derdiyok, who owns the restaurant along with his brother, Levent Derdiyok.
The restaurant sells Turkish delights — sweet, candylike treats, including baklava — and Turkish coffee, which is strong. It offers more than 40 flavors of delights — all imported from Turkey. The delights are varied; some have pistachio, walnut, fig or creme. There's a mix of candy, nuts and fruit.
The brothers said that in the future they might add a more formal Turkish breakfast.
Bulent Derdiyok came to the United States in 2001 and started a carpet-selling business in New York. It was too cold, he said, so he moved to Santa Barbara and opened a Turkish import store, also on State Street, with carpets and lanterns.
Customers can sample dozens of Turkish delights when they walk in. The display case is rich with a colorful display of delights, and hanging from the ceiling are beautiful lanterns. The shop also sells Turkish coffee pots for people to brew their own coffee at home.
"We just wanted to make something different on State Street with unique, ethnic things," he said. "As you know, State Street the last couple of years, business has gone down, business is getting slow. We want to give a little bit of life to the street."
Bulent Derdiyok said he hopes that people will sample the Turkish delights and coffee while strolling along State Street.
"As you know, State Street is a long street, and people, when they start walking, they get tired and they just want to have a small snack for five minutes," he said. "This will be a good spot for them."
The restaurant also offers free Wi-Fi.
A formal grand opening is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.