Midtown Turkish restaurant Turkuaz is opening a new location in Midtown East, according to a liquor license application. The second location for the popular neighborhood spot is opening in 1072 2nd Ave. in a space that formerly housed Margari Pizza.
Turkuaz is a family-owned restaurant owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo Deniz and Ali Kocak. Ali Kocak is a chemist by trade, working as an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Having lived with a chef while working on his PhD, Kocak leaped into the restaurant industry on a whim.
“Even though I had never worked in a restaurant myself — aside from enjoying great dining experiences — I always carried the idea that one day I might open one,” Kocak says. His chef roommate told him about a restaurant up for sale, which he decided to purchase after some convincing. “That moment became the turning point in my life. I took over the restaurant with no real experience in operating or cooking, yet it quickly grew into a very successful establishment.”
Kocak first opened Turkuaz in 2000 on the Upper West Side, where it operated as the largest Turkish restaurant in New York City, sitting 180 people. “Guests would often wait up to 45 minutes just to get a table,” Kocak says. The restaurant moved to Midtown West in 2019, where it operates today. Kocak says the upcoming Turkuaz location, “will carry the spirit of our previous restaurants, reflecting the journey we have built over the past 26 years.”
The new restaurant will maintain some familiar flavors, but will mainly focus on the North Black Sea region. Its menu will draw from the pair’s decades of experience in the restaurant industry. It will also lean on Kocak’s experience as a chemist. “During my undergraduate years, one of my professors used to say that chemistry without physics and math is simply good cooking — and that idea stayed with me,” Kocak says.
“Cooking, in my view, is a true combination of science and art. The process of mixing ingredients, understanding techniques, and building a recipe relies on science — it requires knowledge, precision, and structure,” Kocak says. “At the same time, presentation, creativity, and the emotions you feel while cooking belong to the artistic side.”
Midtown East can expect to enjoy Turkuaz’s food in mid-April. The restaurant’s design will bring in Ottoman and Anatolian influences on top of a Mediterranean foundation, creating an intimate experience for its new neighborhood. While we say new neighborhood, Midtown East actually harkens back to Turkuaz’s early days in the Upper West Side, both residential neighborhoods where diners are looking for a regular spot that serves consistently.
“In such neighborhoods, consistency becomes essential — consistency in service, in cuisine, and in building genuine relationships with guests,” Kocak says. “Our goal is to create an environment where customers return again and again, and I believe our experience and dedication over the years have prepared us well to achieve that.”
