In Turkish culture, a regular part of life includes family members and friends gathering to share food in a tradition called Meze.
For Michael and Ayse Barluk, they are hoping to host many such events when they open Elma Restaurant, which will be located right next door to Salty’s Beach House on Lakeshore Drive in Penticton.
Ayse’s father and mother, Saba and Zerrin, have been the proud owners of the Black Sea Motel since 1978 (when it was called the Parkside Motel) and opened the first restaurant on Lakeshore Drive back in 1988.
Her father has dreamed of opening a new, high-end restaurant featuring a Turkish theme for many years and convinced her and her husband that they should move from Vancouver to take over the motel and restaurant business, she said.
“I didn’t know if Michael would be interested, but he was more excited than I was,” said Ayse. “I was raised in Penticton and I loved my life here before moving away, so I was pretty excited about coming back. I wasn’t sure if Michael would be as excited as I was, but he was on board and here we are.”
She worked at Black Sea Motel for many years growing up as did her brother Emir, who is currently in medical school. Her brother is a technical wizard and continues to help out with online booking and computer systems needed at the hotel, she said.
“It’s always been a family-run business and always will be,” she said. “My dad pitched the idea of opening a new restaurant beside our motel about four years ago.”
She and her husband of seven years were planning to move back to Penticton prior to her getting pregnant, but having a baby during this process was a surprise which solidified their decision that they were making the right move.
They are proud parents of Lara, 2.
“Getting pregnant and having Lara just solidified our decision to get out of the big city, move to Penticton and plan the new restaurant,” she said. “Penticton is a wonderful place to live and raise a family … and that has made the transition very easy.
Although they were hopeful to have their new restaurant opened in time for the 2018 tourist season, that’s not going to happen and they are now aiming to open in early fall, said Michael.
“We had really hoped we could open this spring, but with construction delays and the difficulty in finding contractors, we just decided to take our time, do things right and be ready to open hopefully in early fall,” he said.
With construction well underway, they are counting down the days to opening their new restaurant, he said.
They decided to name the restaurant Elma because that’s the Turkish word for apple, which relates well to the fruit growing industry that remains such a big part of Penticton’s economic history, said Ayse.
“We were racking our brains literally for weeks to try and come up with a name everyone liked and one day my mother just came up with Elma and we immediately knew that was the one,” she said.
Michael said the restaurant will be unlike any other in Penticton.
“What we want to get across is it won’t be an ethnic restaurant, but rather a casual, fine dining Canadian restaurant with a strong Turkish influence,” he said. “We will be using fresh fruit and vegetables from the Okanagan."
The restaurant will have 120 seats and they will be making our own breads and utilizing Turkish recipes and spices within their dishes. They will be utilizing local meat and cheese vendors.
“The theme and marketing will focus on unique, casual dining that appeals to the entire family at a reasonable price.”
The restaurant will feature two bars - one on each floor - a semi-enclosed outdoor patio on the second floor and another outdoor patio on the main floor.
The kitchen will feature an open-concept, chef’s table design where customers can not only smell the food being made, but also interact with kitchen staff during the preparation of meals, said Ayse.
“Having an open concept kitchen was very important to us,” she said. “We want our customers to enjoy good food, but also have a memorable experience. We want them to see how the food is prepared … how our bread is made. They will also be able to converse with our staff, ask some questions and have a lot of fun at the same time.”
Ayse and her husband, who just returned from a three-week vacation to Turkey, are confident food lovers are going to enjoy what they have to offer.
Offering something unique is what Elma Restaurant will be all about, she said.
“Food is such a big part of Turkish culture because it brings family and friends together,” she said. “Talking and sharing great food is a very important part of life there.
“In Turkey, the tradition of sharing food on large platters is called Meze. It’s similar to tapas in Spanish culture. We will be offering this kind of unique experience to our customers.”
Meze dishes are served on small tapas-style plate wear meant to be shared either between two patrons or a large group.
While they will certainly benefit from the huge amount of tourists who flock to Penticton, Michael said Elma Restaurant will focus on serving their local clientele.
“We feel our restaurant will provide something different here in Penticton,” he said. “The tourist season lasts for a few months, but our focus is on providing a quality dining experience to the people of Penticton 12 months of the year.”
Elma Restaurant would like to cater to private, corporate and special events, including weddings and seasonal parties, he said.
Staff recruitment, including hiring a head chef, won’t begin until late summer as they don’t want to interfere with other restaurants, said Ayse.
Anyone wanting more information can contact Michael or Ayse Barluk at 250-4040 or by email at [email protected].
