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Fox – 5 DC
A new Elmira eatery is bringing a taste of the Mediterranean to the Southern Tier.
Turquoise Sweets, at 413 Madison Ave., has expanded the existing ice cream shop and is now offering fresh food and a small grocery store on Elmira’s eastside.
Sahzene and Kadir Yavuz started serving food in early January, with a focus on Mediterranean dishes.
The menu is built around gyros, with sides like rice, tzatziki, hummus, salads and soups. Other specials include items like falafel, Turkish ravioli and pide, a flatbread with a variety of fillings.
“We’re still figuring out the menu and what goes well. We’re trying out a couple different sides but the main thing is the gyro,” said Sahzene Yavuz. “Elmira is a small town but we’ve got quite a bit of attention, especially for some of the side dishes like homemade baklava.”
The couple is originally from Turkey but has spent the last two decades in the U.S. They moved to Elmira a few years ago for Sahzene’s work as an endocrinologist.
Her work in the healthcare industry helped fuel a desire to add a healthy food option to the local dining scene.
“It’s fresh, plain, clean cooking — not too much sauce, not too much processed this or that. We don’t fry anything here,” said Sahzene. “We’re aiming to have an option for the community to have fresh, low-carb, healthy foods that at the same time are very enjoyable.”
The business venture is the first for Sahzene and Kadir. Kadir handles most of the cooking at Turquoise Sweets, while Sahzene takes care of the menu, orders ingredients and does some prep work. The couple’s children also help out.
Turquoise Sweets is also now selling some food ingredients that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in the Elmira area. Adding a small grocery store was out of necessity; the nearest place to get some of the eatery’s Mediterranean ingredients was in Rochester, Sahzene said.
Turqouise Sweets is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
It is currently takeout only, although a patio area with picnic tables is expected to be available when the weather warms up later this year.
Sahzene also hopes to utilize a greenhouse on the property to grow fresh vegetables for an urban “farm to table” operation providing ingredients for the eatery.
“If we can achieve that I’ll be really happy because freshness is everything in our food vision,” Sahzene said.
“We want our guests to have a good experience with fresh, healthy foods that they can enjoy and at the same time get good nutrition.”