Named after one of the tallest mountains in Turkey, always had its sights set high. The restaurant opened its doors in 1985 as a small takeout selling mainly kebabs, pides, dips and bread. A few decades later and in the hands of second-generation owner, Eren Saraçoglu, this Sydney institution is still going strong.
The history of Ericyes Restaurant dates back almost 50 years. Saraçoglu's uncle Ahmet opened an initial store in Coogee after migrating to Australia from Turkey. He named the shop after Mount Erciyes, which is located about 25km south of the Saraçoglu family's hometown, Kayseri, in Turkey. The menu was traditional and consisted of dishes Ahmet enjoyed eating back home.
"It was just the food we eat in our city in Turkey," Saraçoglu explains. "They just wanted to implement it here."
A few years later, a space on the corner of Crown and Cleveland Streets became available. Saraçoglu's uncle and father, Mustafa, teamed up to buy the shop and in Surry Hills was born.
Business in this new neighbourhood took off immediately and their Turkish specialties began flying out the door.
"It was so busy, there were people sitting on crates and lines out the door," Saraçoglu says. "I remember my aunty telling me she never had time to put the money in the till, she had to put it in her bra."
With so many mouths to feed, the Saraçoglu family knew it was time for an upgrade. In 2006, they acquired the shop next door and transformed it into a 150-seat restaurant.
All my customers and workers are like a family to me.
To enter the restaurant, guests must push through the takeaway crowds and past the brightly lit menu boards. Once inside, they'll find a door leading into Erciyes' spacious dining room. Visit on a Friday or Saturday night and this room is buzzing with families and long-term customers who come for the feast and stay for the belly-dancers (be careful if you're sitting near the aisle, since crowd participation is encouraged).
The shop may have expanded over the years, but the family atmosphere remains the same. Erciyes has developed a strong customer base – some have visited every week for the past few decades. "The same people get the same food every time," Saraçoglu says.
Some customers have been coming since before Saraçoglu was born. They book out the restaurant for family functions, Turkish festivities and celebrations.
"All my customers and workers are like a family to me," he says. "That's what makes it special."
Saraçoglu took over the reins at Erciyes four years ago, after graduating from high school. He spent the first year learning the tricks of the trade from his father, before officially taking on the role as director in 2018. This leadership position came naturally to him after practically growing up in the shop.
"Food has always been a big part of my life," Saraçoglu explains. "Ever since I was born, my dad had this shop, so even when I was little, I was coming here, helping out, doing what I could."
While his duties have grown past folding pizza boxes, some things at Erciyes remain the same. Their traditional Turkish menu is still similar to the one that customers ordered from in 1985. The most popular item is their speciality kiymali pide, which is filled with ground beef, onion, tomato, capsicum, parsley and spices. The dough is made fresh every hour, which Saraçoglu believes is the secret behind its success. Customers also can't go past Erciyes' homemade hummus, which is made using a recipe that his aunty created many years ago.
"We've got people coming from all over Australia and taking our hummus back to their city," he says.
Since taking over, Saraçoglu has made some changes that he saw as necessary to keep up with customer trends. He introduced snack packs and modernised Erciyes' baklava menu to include flavours such as chocolate and Biscoff. Saraçoglu also provided a handful of vegan options, which have been so popular that he created a separate account on delivery services such as UberEats to sell these, under the name .
Putting Erciyes on these delivery platforms is one of Saraçoglu's proudest achievements over the four years he has run the restaurant.
"I signed up the shop for UberEats really early, before anyone knew about it," he says. "Our Uber was staying open Friday and Saturday, until 3am and it was the first time we made triple our profits."
Saraçoglu loves how this platform has given him the opportunity to share his Turkish heritage with more Sydneysiders and show that Turkish food is much more than kebabs.
I think people are more happy when they've got food and got their friends with them.
In the long term, Saraçoglu wants his restaurant to remain a place that brings people together.
"I think people are more happy when they've got food and got their friends with them," he says.
The secrets to Erciyes' success are serving fresh and good quality food, and working hard every day of the week (apart from New Year's Eve, which is the one day of the year that the restaurant is closed).
Saraçoglu enjoys his time at the restaurant, working alongside his dad and chatting to the new and familiar faces that drop by. However, the highlight of his day is getting to make himself a custom pide for lunch. Chicken and BBQ is one combination he can't recommend enough.
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