The Esendemir Sisters Become the First Turkish-American Women to Start a Global Franchise Concept

HOBOKEN, N.J., Jan. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Esendemir Sisters, who grew up in poverty, are the first Turkish-American founders of a fast casual restaurant franchise concept.

Flatbread Grill®, headquartered in the sisters' hometown of Hoboken, NJ, will avail its franchise model to qualified operators all over the world. The sisters' Mediterranean bakery and grill concept is the only restaurant of its kind serving proprietary bread.

"My sisters and I built this very unique concept from scratch, with passion and dedication," says Arzu Esendemir, co-founder and CEO of Flatbread Grill®, who has spent the past decade developing the business model with her two sisters. "We created the logo, we designed the interior, developed the menu and bread recipes, handled all the marketing, operations, and buildout completely on our own," adds Arzu.

Flatbread Grill® was originally founded after older sister, Fusun, was laid off from her job. The sisters joined together in order to support their sick parents, who could not afford health insurance. The concept took off almost immediately via word of mouth. The New York Times even gave the sisters' concept an outstanding review.

The sisters battled a significant amount of racism, discrimination against their socio-economic upbringing, as well as their race and religion, and sexism over the course of a decade. Despite all the obstacles the sisters faced, they forged ahead and built an impressive business model that is now being pursued as far as India for expansion. The sisters also built up a worldwide social media following by sharing their personal, as well as business journey.

"There were times we knew we were being treated differently because of our background," says Gonca Esendemir, who oversees marketing for the brand. "Whether it was our sex, race, or religion, we were under constant scrutiny. A producer for a major reality TV network even told us that we were not 'white enough' for rural America to like us."

The Esendemir Sisters, who were born to immigrant parents, bring not only their immense restaurant expertise to the franchise system, but they also bring their extreme resourcefulness. Having built the brand with very little money during the height of an economic recession, the sisters used their creativity and tough upbringing to survive in one of the toughest industries in the world.

Fusun, who overseas the financial side of the business adds, "Our family values and our bond as sisters are two of the factors that contributed to our success. We watched our parents struggle greatly growing up. Both our parents worked hard to make an honest living. Hard work is in our blood."

The sisters will be very actively involved in supporting the buildout and operations of franchised locations.

More Franchise Info: http://www.franchiseflatbread.com or email [email protected] for an e-brochure

Media contact:

Gonca Esendemir
[email protected] 
551-689-9748

SOURCE Esendemir Sisters