[EXPAT PROFILE]
From San Francisco to İstanbul business owner Shellie Corman

On her first visit to Turkey, in 1983, she went to Marmaris. It was there that she fell in love with the breathtaking Aegean and Mediterranean coastlines. Reminiscing about her first impressions she said: “It was so lovely then. I had traveled and lived in this part of the world over the years, but I continued to visit Turkey and found İstanbul intriguing. I used to imagine that one day I would come and live here.”

Even though she loves both Kaş and Bozcaada, she chose to make İstanbul her home. From her home in Cihangir she is constantly reminded of San Francisco by all the cafes and small shops just outside her door. She is happily ensconced in the area and admits that sometimes weeks will pass when she has no need to venture outside of her immediate neighborhood. She explains: “Interestingly enough, I feel I fit in well here in so many ways. I felt comfortable right away when I moved here. Maybe it was due to having been married to a Greek man for many years and having spent two years living in Athens. The two cultures have many similarities. I think the main difference for me is that strong, independent women are sometimes looked at as an anomaly in Turkey. I also feel some resistance when trying to implement new ideas or introduce new ways of doing things.”

To ease her transition into life in İstanbul, Corman has attended classes and studied with private teachers to better learn Turkish. Even though she admits her language skills are poor at the moment, she intends to continue her studies since it is a big advantage to be able to communicate effectively in Turkish, and expanding her language skills will help to better understand the culture and people.

As many other foreigners have discovered, Corman finds that life in Turkey can be frustrating at times. She says the biggest difficulties she has had to adjust to are the constant traffic tie-ups in İstanbul and the often inefficient way things get done. She adds: “I sometimes find it hard to rely on people to do their work and do it well here. The well-known phrase ‘burası Türkiye’ [this is Turkey] is not really the answer I like to hear when I am trying to understand why something was done a certain way.”

Corman is the owner of Kahvedan Café in Cihangir, a restaurant that has become a neighborhood favorite for locals and expats alike. They have a varied menu that includes Turkish, American and Asian dishes prepared by their Filipina chef. Open every day at 9 a.m., Kahvedan is open weekdays until 2 a.m. and stays open until 3 a.m. or later on weekends depending upon the crowd. Upstairs is a quiet area available for private parties and meetings. This space is also utilized for the open buffet Sunday brunch that is quickly becoming a big draw in the neighborhood as well as attracting loyal clients from across town. Decorated to bring out the flavors of her California roots, the atmosphere is similar to that of many North Beach cafes in San Francisco.

Reflecting on her experiences running a restaurant in İstanbul, Corman says: “The employees aren’t used to a boss like me who can be hard and angry at times and then like a mother to them at other times. Trying to communicate in each other’s languages often leads to some great laughs as we try to understand one another. I bought into an existing business, so for me it was not too hard to get the business up and running. The difficulty for me was in learning all about the accounting, taxes and bureaucracy. I think that foreigners can have great success with opening businesses here because most Turkish people are very open to working with foreigners. The main advice I have for anyone contemplating a business is to use a lawyer and to make sure to get everything in writing and signed.”

From the streets of San Francisco to the hills of İstanbul, Corman has managed to nicely merge her California background with her new Turkish home in creating a café where everyone feels at home.