Gozleme King is a food retailer based in Sydney specialising in a variety of freshly made, authentic Turkish Street Food. As Sydney’s favourite Gozleme destination for over 15 years, the brand has achieved its mission to make Turkish street food widely accessible and appreciated by everyone.

We recently spoke to Oscar, the King of Gozleme, and the owner behind the brand about his business, his community and the philosophy behind his signature Gozleme.

Meet Oscar

Tell us about yourself and the beginnings of Gozleme King

“I was born in Australia and have a Turkish heritage. I studied Computer Engineering at university and in my final years, worked part time at a kebab shop. One day, an opportunity came up for me to buy the shop from the owner. We went from selling at markets to popup shops. I always had a vision to make a shop so finally, in 2002, I saw an opportunity to establish Gozleme King”

“8 years ago, we opened our first shop in Liverpool and the road took us from there to Canberra and Melbourne. We’ve now got 11 stores but to me, [the store at] Bankstown is home”

What do you enjoy about having a store at Bankstown?

“It’s my 7th year with Bankstown Central. My role used to be on the operations side of the business – focusing on improving standards, quality, and hygiene so I used to visit all the different sites. But 2 years ago, I decided to base myself at Bankstown because I realised there is a very strong community that like traditional Turkish Food.”

What makes the gozleme at Gozleme King special?

Oscar described several things that makes Gozleme King special:

·         “We handmake our dough fresh every morning”

·         “We only use the finest quality ingredients from the best possible suppliers”

·         “We are always evolving and we’re all about flavour”

·         “I’m always trying to come up with something unique – lots of unique flavours”  

What’s the favourite item at Gozleme King?

“Funny story, when I was experimenting with different flavours at the market, Peri Peri was in so I marinated chicken in that sauce and my staff laughed at me but now, it’s our second best seller after the traditional spinach and cheese gozleme”

Oscar says that Gozleme King signatures are:

·         Gozleme: Spinach & Cheese, Peri Peri Chicken

·         Anything with sujuk (sausage) – developed together with their supplier through 8 rounds of trial and gaining the seal of approval from Oscar’s kids

·         Mojo sauce: “A Spanish inspired sauce exclusively supplied to us from a close friend so you can’t find anywhere else”

·         Lentil soup: “Initially it was a Winter dish, but the customers wanted it all year round so we listened!”

What’s your favourite thing about your customers?

Oscar believes in the power of honest feedback, claiming that it’s integral for the success of his business.

“As an approachable person, my customers feel comfortable sharing positive and negative feedback which allows me to have good conversations with them. It’s not about the money transaction and it feels like they’re a part of the family. We use their feedback and introduce new items and flavours”