By Eric Eisenberg
ALLSTON – Walking through the aisles of Turkuaz, the Turkish and Mediterranean market on Brighton Avenue, the average American consumer would be surprised. Various jars of molasses, Mediterranean spices, Turkish pasta, and spiced yogurts are not products normally found in a neighborhood supermarket.
Arif Yilmaz, the owner of Turkuaz, says the idea of a Turkish market came to him after opening his first store in Allston, a dollar store on the same block. After discovering a challenge in finding Turkish products locally, and seeing their availability in the New York/New Jersey area, Yilmaz decided to open the store three years ago.
“I saw many Turkish grocery stores down there, so I thought it was worth a shot,” Yilmaz said.
Turkuaz is a small market. A deli containing Turkish meats, including dry sausages and Turkish meatballs, stands next to the register in the front and two aisles are stocked with stuffed cabbage leaves, bulgar wheat, Turkish teas and coffee, black olives for breakfast and Turkish soap made with black olive oil. In the front, there is a stand with Turkish jewelry and artifacts.
Most of the products come from suppliers in New York and New Jersey, but some are from Turkey.
The store, on Packard’s corner, is beside the B train on the Green line, and in the vicinity of Boston University and Boston College-which both have large Turkish populations, Yilmaz said.
Yilmaz and Torgay Kaya, the manager, say that between 70 and 80 percent of sales are to Turkish and Mediterranean immigrants.
Yilmaz says Allston’s immigrant population and immigrant-owned stores are important because it allows people to understand other aspects of the world.
“It can tell you that people can live together,” Yilmaz said. “They can think differently, they can view things differently.”
© Eric Eisenberg, All Rights Reserved