Central Ohio's ethnic markets drawing customers with homemade meals
When Istanbul Market expanded to four times its original size, it was by necessity, manager Ilkir Yildirim said.
For 16 years it operated as a 2,000-square-foot boutique market catering mostly to Turkish and Arab customers.
On Sept 2, the original Istanbul Market at 5227 Bethel Center Mall closed and simultaneously relocated across from an open-air walkway to an 8,000-square-foot storefront at 5221, where it was rebranded as Gourmet Fine Foods by Istanbul Market.
"People want to see more variety of products from Turkey, the Mediterranean and Europe," he said. "We try to attract more people. We open the business to everybody."
But there's more: Desserts, breads and other goods are baked fresh each day. Shawarma, hot meals, hummus, falafel, babagannoush and other regional items also are made every morning.
Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.
Specialty ethnic markets are nothing new to Columbus, but the creation of grab-and-go items is becoming more popular among diners who want to know where their food is made, and many grocers are happy to accommodate.
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La Michoacana, 5545 Bethel Road, has a café built among its fresh produce, meats, spices and other Mexican items.
Sunrise Asian Super Market, which recently moved to 1920 W. Henderson Road, also has a sit-down restaurant in the middle of the store.
Tensuke Market, a Japanese store at 1167 Old Henderson Road, has house-prepared sushi, bento and other grab-and-go meals in its inventory.
Mika Lecklider, whose father, Takenashi Takenaka, opened a cluster of Japanese restaurants and other stores – the market among them, in the Kenny Centre Mall – said the prepared-foods section is a major attraction and opens up newcomers to products with which they might not be familiar.
"I think people aren't cooking as much these days," said Lecklider, the manager of Belle's Bread, a specialty bakery. "People don't have the time. They want something fast and generally healthy. And I think people like to see the food they're picking out instead of reading it on a menu."
In much the same way, Gourmet Fine Foods by Istanbul Market is sourcing all of its halal meats – beef, lamb, goat and chicken – locally, Yildirim said.
Some things are still fresh but just not available in Ohio, he said. So fresh fish is delivered every Friday and usually sold out by Sunday, he said.
"We are still progressing," he said.
CAM International Market had a bold expansion when it moved in 2018 from 805 Bethel Road to a 21,000-square-foot complex, the Asian Center, at 3767 Park Mill Run Drive.
CAM long has been known for its Chinese pancakes, bubble tea, duck, noodle dishes and pork-stuffed buns in a small deli area.
Because of labor shortages, the café has a limited number of grab-and-go items and a place to eat but not meals cooked to order, said Fanyi Zeng, who is an accountant and customer-service rep in CAM’s business office.
“We’re just waiting for employees,” she said.
Mala HotPot, a sit-down restaurant, is outside the market but inside the Asian Center. As with the other specialty markets, many customers are drawn to the deli because they’re in a hurry, Zeng said.
“I think the convenience, for one,” she said. “You can go home and have a meal and only need a vegetable to prepare your dinner.”
gseman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekGary
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Columbus-area ethnic markets drawing customers with homemade meals
