Pera’s Products Prompt 50 Great Ideas Nod By Restaurant Business Magazine

March 15, 2010 - PRLog -- In its annual 50 Great Ideas of the Year issue, Restaurant Business,  the country’s premier publication dedicated to restaurant entrepreneurship, cited the launch of a nationwide mail order program by Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, for its hand-fabricated specialty Mediterranean meat products, as one of the 50 Great Ideas of 2009.  The only New York City based product-oriented 50 Great Ideas Award-winner, Pera’s Meats-to-Go program was first introduced in 2007 in response to demand from diners who craved the restaurant’s signature meat preparations’ matchless tastes and textures for meals at home.  But it was the October 2009 introduction of nationwide distribution via a dedicated online store, http://PeraOnlineStore.com, that captured the attention of Restaurant Business, http://monkeydish.com  in a year the magazine suggested might have been the “mother of necessity,” prompting operators to be aggressively creative to promote sales and maintain market-share in the down economy.    

Already recognized as the premier Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in Manhattan, the ability to offer its house-made specialty meat products to a national audience via the Internet not only significantly increased order volume and revenues, but gave the Pera brand, http://peranyc.com, a countrywide reach.

“It took a lot of research, time and capital investment to develop an on-site flash-freezing, packaging and shipping equation that would assure the maintenance of the integrity of the meats.  Then there was the design and execution of the products’ Web site.  But it was all well worth it,” enthuses Burak Karaçam, the owner of Pera Mediterranean Brasserie.  “Not only did we win this prestigious award from Restaurant Business, but we’re getting orders from as far away as Hawaii and other distribution channels have taken on the meats, such as Amazon.  So the effort has made a positive impact on our bottom line and dramatically increased that all important ‘online presence’ for Pera.”    

It also assured the Pera products project stood-out, rising above the clutter of creative ideas prompted by the recession. . "We literally had hundreds of great ideas to choose from this year and it was not easy to whittle them down. Pera made the cut for the same reason the other 49 did: they solved a problem—in this case how to boost their bottom line and extend their brand—with great creativity and energy. That's how restaurants flourish," notes Sam Smith, editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business.  

Currently sophisticated carnivores can order six different full flavored meat delicacies not available in their local gourmet emporiums, including:   Lamburger Patty stuffed with feta, olives, roasted tomatoes and a blend of herbs; Pera’s signature Lamb Adana, hand-minced, marbled, seasoned and skewered according to the classic, time-honored method and a chicken variation of the traditional Adana preparation which gets its name from the Turkish town to which it is indigenous.

Priced from $6.95 to $13.95 for 7 to 16 ounce portions, the meat preparations are flash frozen and vacuum-packed for optimum, restaurant quality flavor and texture. (There is also a sampler presenting each of the six products, plus a bonus Lamburger  for $72.65). They are accompanied by tips from Pera’s culinary team for various cooking methods - outdoor grills, home kitchen broilers and stove tops.  In addition there are video tutorials, as well as written instructions, on www.peraonlinestore.com.  (The instructional videos, along with all Pera Mediterranean Brasserie videos can also be viewed on www.youtube.com/user/PeraNYC.)

Long term, Karaçam plans to add other Pera products to the online store, including the restaurant’s house-made steak and hot sauces, Pera’s pidettes – mini Eastern Mediterranean “pizzas” - and some of the celebrated mezes.

Pera Mediterranean Brasserie debuted on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan in November 2006 to laudatory reviews from the city’s food press.   Rated a “Top 5 Newcomer” by Zagat Survey 2008, Pera presents  authentic Eastern Mediterranean cuisine with a Turkish focus, interwoven with influences from  the entire Mediterranean region and infused with some New York gustatory flair, by co-executive chefs, Sezai Celikbas of Istanbul’s internationally renowned Kosebasi and  Jason Avery, previously at the former Regent Wall Street hotel.  As such, Pera is New York’s first restaurant to present cuisine firmly rooted in ancient traditions and techniques, while incorporating Western contemporary culinary trends without compromising the food’s integrity, and to do so with panache in a cosmopolitan setting.         

The first venture from Burak Karaçam of BK Restaurant Partners, LLC, whose father launched the famous Kosebasi concept with Pera’s Celikbas as executive chef, Pera is named after the elegant Istanbul neighborhood that has been a melting pot for many cultures and cuisines since the 17th century.         

For more information about each of Pera’s six specialty meat products, please visit www.peraonlinestore.com - shipping charges are computed at check-out depending upon weight and destination.  For more information about Pera Mediterranean Brasserie and for reservations, log onto www.peranyc.com.  
   
Pera is located at 303 Madison Avenue, between 41st and 42nd Streets, in New York City.  The phone number is (212) 878-6301.