Opening a home decor shop has always been Esra Tanyıldız's dream, and after converting her shop in Trabzon into a cafe, Tanyıldız now sells everything from the tea glasses customers drink from to the sofas they sit on.
After attending an entrepreneurial course sponsored by the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) two years ago, Tanyıldız has realized her dream of starting a business with the help of a TL 50,000 ($13,650) incentive.
By creating her own designs along with furniture and decoration products, Tanyıldız attracted the attention of local students thanks to her store's prime location. After listening to the students' requests for a garden view, coffee and a cafe, Tanyıldız took the initiative and turned her decoration and furniture shop into a cafe.
While keeping the core concept of her furniture and decoration shop in place, Tanyıldız has created a unique business that combines a quaint cafe with her love of selling home decor. Now after two years of business, customers can shop while they drink their cup of coffee from a mug they can purchase on the way out.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), business owner Tanyıldız said the concept of her shop changes in-line with the demands of the students.
"We host our customers as if they are guests in our home, offering them food and drinks. In return, the students have started to come in larger groups. At first they may have been two people and later come again as five. They like the garden concept of the cafe. Once I let one person sit in the garden, I could not refuse the newcomers. After some time, we started to serve tea and coffee. Amid the growing demand, we have moved on to a different concept by enriching our menu options," Tanyıldız said.
While detailing their menu of desserts, snack foods, tea and world coffees, Tanyıldız added: "Sure, we try to keep the concept within certain boundaries. We cannot really add too much food into this concept because we are not a restaurant."
Everything for sale
Mentioning her international trade studies, Esra Tanyıldız went on to say: "I am not a cafe owner, but incidents have brought me here. I am really happy and satisfied now. The demands and reactions of people make us happy. Also, our sales are really good. Everything is okay, and I love my job."
Implying that literally every item in the store is for sale, she said: "The tables, chairs, sofas, paintings, clocks, shawls. ...You can buy everything that you see here. We do not have multiples of any items. If we sell something, we bring in a new, different concept. This is actually better for us. In the cafe sector, everybody is looking for something fresh, and our place provides an advantage because it is constantly renewing itself. We are satisfied with the interest, too."