Medford Pita House Owner Talks Turkish Food

owner and chef Joff Sahin has found success bringing Turkish food to Long Island, and recently opened up to our sister site, , about a few of the challenges of bringing a niche food to market.

“I am the original guy who brought fresh homemade Turkish food to Long Island,” he said. “Turkish food was not known.”

Sahin says he started serving Turkish food on Long Island almost 20 years ago when he opened the Medford Pita House in 1993. Since then, he has opened another location and his newest Medford endeavor, .

Sahin says the restaurant business is tough enough but Turkish food is especially hard because everything has to be prepared fresh. There’s no mass-produced Turkish food available here.

“You really have to know what you’re doing to run a truly nice restaurant,” he said.

Fresh food spoils in a few days if it’s not sold and the margins are thinner than a slice of lamb. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t make much money at all on lamb, a staple item on the Turkish plate.

According to Sahin, a leg of lamb that costs him $60 will lose him money after he cuts it up for kabobs, gyros, and a shank. When he factors in the price for serving soup and salad with a meal along with salaries for the waitresses and chef, he’s left with barely anything.

“I make money elsewhere,” he said. “I don’t make it from lamb.”

The dream of opening your own restaurant “is getting harder and harder,” said Sahin.

Other local Turkish food locations include Angora Turkish Grill in Medford, the Turkish market in Farmingville and the recently opened in Port Jefferson Station.