{"id":142996,"date":"2025-06-06T12:40:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T16:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142996"},"modified":"2025-06-06T12:40:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T16:40:50","slug":"partnership-acquires-former-buca-di-beppo-in-whitehall-to-launch-international-turkish-market-and-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142996","title":{"rendered":"Partnership Acquires Former Buca di Beppo in Whitehall to Launch International Turkish Market and Kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Partnership Acquires Former Buca di Beppo in Whitehall to Launch International Turkish Market and Kitchen<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHITEHALL, Pennsylvania<\/strong> \u2013 A team of experienced food entrepreneurs has purchased the former Buca di Beppo restaurant at 714 Grape Street in Whitehall, with plans to transform the space into an international market and kitchen with a Mediterranean focus. The $1,150,000 acquisition was completed on June 4, 2025, by Sultan Property Group LLC, a partnership formed by Timor Bulag, Cengiz Yalim, Tuncay Yalim, and Mohammad Khan.<\/p>\n

The group will fully renovate the 1.7-acre standalone property, leveraging its existing commercial kitchen, ample parking, and expansion potential to establish the first concept of its kind in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur core business is food importing, and we\u2019ve had our eye on the Allentown corridor for a long time,\u201d said Bulag. \u201cThere\u2019s a void in this market for what we offer\u2014halal butchery, Mediterranean and international foods, and a gourmet shopping experience. We\u2019ve vetted this area for over 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vision for the new business includes an international supermarket featuring Mediterranean specialties, ethnic groceries, and a restaurant-style kitchen. The location will offer gourmet groceries and fresh prepared foods, including custom cuts of halal meats, fresh dairy, olives, imported chocolates, and more than 20 varieties of kebabs. The owners also plan to add a four-season dining deck and possibly expand the building footprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re foodies,\u201d Bulag said. \u201cWe want to offer something different to the neighborhood\u2014quality products in a beautiful setting, not a discount look. Our model is built on experience and passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The renovation plans are extensive. \u201cWe\u2019re gutting the interior, installing automated glass doors, upgrading the kitchen, and adding refrigeration, an olive bar, juice bar, and more,\u201d said Bulag. \u201cWe also hope to add 3,000 square feet to the building and maybe even a second floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team aims to open by Thanksgiving, pending township approvals. \u201cWe\u2019re targeting a soft opening followed by a grand opening with the local community and possibly the mayor,\u201d Bulag said. The business is expected to create 20 to 25 new jobs.<\/p>\n

Though the group has yet to finalize a name for the venture, the concept will center around an \u201cinternational supermarket with a kitchen.\u201d The team brings more than 20 years of combined retail and wholesale food industry experience and sees this project as a launchpad for broader expansion across the East Coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to grow organically, and this is just the beginning,\u201d Bulag said. \u201cFrom here to Miami\u2014there are existing stores we want to take over and rebrand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lehigh Financial Group\u2019s Antonia Trigiani arranged the financing for the deal. \u201cProfessionalism to the ump level,\u201d said Bulag. \u201cThey were very honest, comforting, and got it done on time\u2014even after our first lender failed us. Jeff Barber, Toni Trigiani, and the team at Lehigh Financial Group communicated well and delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bulag also praised realtor Brian Bailey of KW Commercial \u2013 The James Balliet Group. \u201cHe had the right blend of communication\u2014cordial, professional, and reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loan was provided by First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union. First United Land Transfer handled the title and closing services.<\/p>\n

Lehigh Financial Group, LLC<\/strong> is a leading source of innovative real estate capital solutions and financing options for commercial customers. The company, based in Allentown, serves the Lehigh Valley region\u2014including Northampton, Bucks, and Berks counties, Philadelphia, and beyond\u2014by providing capital for businesses and investors locally, regionally, and nationwide. For more information, visit LehighFinancialGroup.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nChad Clauser<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Partnership Acquires Former Buca di Beppo in Whitehall to Launch International Turkish Market and Kitchen WHITEHALL, Pennsylvania \u2013 A team of experienced food entrepreneurs has purchased the former Buca di … Continue reading Partnership Acquires Former Buca di Beppo in Whitehall to Launch International Turkish Market and Kitchen<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/grape-street.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=142996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=142996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=142996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=142996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}