Pera Mediterranean Brasserie Ships its Meats to Customers Nationwide

Pera Mediterranean Brasserie recently launched the Pera Online Store, which provides a nationwide distribution channel for its specialties to those guests who are located too far to travel to Pera on a regular basis. “We enjoy thinking about ways to make our guests' experience continually more convenient and interesting,” Burak Karaçam, Pera's managing partner, says. Pera Mediterranean Brasserie opened in November 2006. TURKOFAMERICA talked to Burak Karaçam about his almost three years of business experience with Pera.

Could you tell us what Pera has achieved since its opening?
What is Pera’s position in the New York ethnic restaurant market? We were quite careful from the beginning not to pigeonhole Pera as an ethnic restaurant per se, but rather as one that focuses on the cuisine of a particular region of the world. The distinction here is that from its ambiance to the presentation of its dishes, from the service standards to the musical selections accompanying one's meal, Pera presents a truly cosmopolitan setting and operation. I believe in doing so, Pera not only reaches out to those guests who are already favorably inclined towards eastern Mediterranean cuisine, but also to those who know little about the cuisine but are willing to experience it given the comfort provided to them by the familiarity of many other aspects of Pera. Having become a NYC restaurant, rather than an ethnic restaurant, is one of Pera's differentiating accomplishments.

Do you have a Pera clientele? At what frequency do these clients visit Pera?
We have been quite fortunate in achieving a dedicated group of Pera clientele at a relatively early stage. This group is now a few hundred strong and their dining frequencies range from five times a week to once a month. Some guests come over and over again for their favorite dishes, and some are drawn by the generous selection on our menu, the seasonal adjustments to it and the daily specials, allowing them to experience something new and fresh on every visit. You're an executive who pursues continuous innovation.

What are some of your current such initiatives and how do your customers react to them?
We believe new initiatives keep our concept fresh and exciting in our guests' minds. Whether these be new dishes,
new wines and cocktails, or avenues where we seek to extend our brand, like the picnic baskets or our recently launched Pera Online Store. We enjoy thinking about ways to make our guests' experience continually more convenient and interesting. We have several ongoing initiatives to keep our guests engaged in Pera throughout the year.

Currently we are featuring our picnic baskets, which are very popular among Bryant Park movie goers as well as couples' or small group celebrations in Central Park or the East and Hudson River Parks. The Pera Online Store (www.peraonlinestore.com), allowing our meats to be shipped nationwide, is another recent initiative. In this effort, we have also partnered with tulumba.com and created special combo packages that are featured on their website. Yet another one of our current initiatives is the Chef-for-Hire catering program whereby we cook and cater our guest's daytime or nighttime party at a venue of their choice, whether it be their home, garden or another venue. We want our brand to be accessible to our clients in more ways than simply having one or several restaurant locations.

Can you talk about the profile of Pera customers? Do you have any famous customers who like to dine at Pera?
Our current clientele base is widely varied. Given our location and our private dining facilities, we have a significant base of corporate clients, ranging from large multinational companies and organizations to small- and mid-sized local ones. We also have a foodie following, appreciative of the traditional but also the new and innovative spin on those traditional dishes we offer.

More recently, celebratory events have found a new home at Pera, whether it be baby or bridal showers, engagement/rehearsal dinners, graduation receptions, birthday get-togethers etc. And there is always the ever hungry and exploratory New Yorker looking for a new taste and place to become one of his/her favorite. While our policies do not permit the sharing of VIP and celebrity names who have dined at our restaurant, they include prominent figures of government, foreign dignitaries, top corporate executives, TV, movie and sports celebrities. The one anecdote I can share is last year's filming of a scene from the movie "Duplicity" in our restaurant, starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.

Would you like to add anything?
Please do stay tuned in to Pera for other upcoming initiatives and programs. Guests can now become a fan of Pera on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check out our pictures and videos on FlickR and YouTube and also sign up to receive periodic updates from Pera on our website, www.peranyc.com. We have been receiving great feedback about some dishes and certain preparation methods, as well as in our music, and we will continue to work on new initiatives to make the Pera brand more accessible on these fronts.