Downtown Erie Turkish eatery Bakery on Fifth draws crowds during opening days

Muftuna Rakhimova's coffee is getting cold.

The owner, 28, of the new Bakery on Fifth, 502 State St., has been trying to drink a hot cup since opening Feb. 1, but hasn't gotten the chance because the line at the counter has been out the door.

"So busy," she said, when asked how things were going. "It's been overwhelming. Oh, my God, pastries are flying. That makes me happy."

The former design engineer returned to her home in Erie after being laid off at the end of a project in New England. She took a look at the space vacated by the former Starbucks and decided she wanted to share the sweets and beverages of her Middle Eastern culture with, well, the rest us.

Turkish coffee, pastries are a hit

Her husband, Kasgar Rakhimova's construction business did all the remodeling, she said, during a brief moment sitting with a cup of black coffee. She soon set down the coffee and headed back over the counter because the line was growing again, despite four people working the register, making coffee and tea and boxing up both Turkish and French baked goods.

She said her chef, Mehmet Yasar, came to Erie from a shop in Connecticut to bake everything, though she said she's trying to learn some things from him, especially the Turkish croissants and meat borek. Not everything they sell is sweet. The savory options, such as the borek, meat cooked inside dough, or Greek sesame seed bread rings and more are favored by Erie's new Americans.

"The Bosnians love it," Rakhimova said, adding that she's barely been able to look up and watch the boxes leaving her store, packed with delights Yasar has had time to make.

"We made 60 croissants for the first day and sold out," she said, adding that all of the ingredients come from Turkey. "We get it straight from Turkey, all of it."

When she was planning, she knew she didn't want to simply replace Starbucks.

"It was empty here," she said. "We wanted to build something positive, create something local, not a franchise."

So far it's working.

Menu expanding soon

Maftuna Rakhimova said she herself doesn't like sweets. She doesn't even put sugar in her Turkish coffee, which is known for being heavy-handed on the sweet stuff.

"I even take my tea black," she said, before getting up a third time, leaving her phone and coffee on the table to go help move some more baked goods.

She did say sandwiches are coming to the menu soon, with the intention of luring the lunch crowd into the fray and adding pickup and delivery possibly in March.

"We're exploring," she said.

Contact Jennie Geisler at jgeisler@timesnews.com or at 814-870-1885.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA Bakery on Fifth serves Turkish, French coffee and pastries