In early April, the Oktay family closed Istanbul Kebab House on lower Church Street in Burlington and listed it for sale; over the weekend, they opened Cappadocia Bistro on the Church Street Marketplace.
Jackie Oktay, 38, said she and her husband, Vural, and his brother, Hasan, decided to close their original Burlington restaurant after receiving final notice that their appeal regarding “essential employee” E-2 visas for specialized chefs from Turkey had been denied.
“For a long time, we thought we could do both,” Jackie said, referring to the family’s 13-year-old Turkish eatery at 175 Church Street and the new Cappadocia Bistro, which opened on April 26 at 92 Church Street.
The Oktays also own two Little Istanbul stores, in White River Junction and Burlington, and Tuckerbox and Cappadocia Café in White River Junction.
Istanbul Kebab House is listed for sale for $195,000. The restaurant has 81 indoor seats and Burlington’s only restaurant rooftop deck. In the summer, with deck and sidewalk tables, it balloons to 130 seats. Jackie said the family is open to a buyer operating it as Istanbul Kebab House.
Hasan, 47, was the restaurant’s manager. “For a while, he has wanted to downsize and do something different,” Jackie said.
The 50-seat, counter-service Cappadocia Bistro resembles Cappadocia Café in White River Junction. Both feature a tiled oven in which chefs bake Turkish flatbreads, such as thin lahmajun and canoe-shaped open pide, as well as rolled, stuffed bafra pide.
The Burlington oven is awaiting certification for use, but Jackie said the team can make most of the flatbreads in a regular oven in the meantime. Other street-food favorites on offer include chicken doner wraps and baked potatoes called kumpir with a wide choice of toppings.
The original print version of this article was headlined “The Oktays Close Istanbul Kebab House and Open Cappadocia Bistro”
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2025.
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