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From 2015 to today, the same kitchen culture keeps living on, at different tables.

2015

Kruvasan İstanbul opened its doors in July 2015, in a corner shop on Avukat Süreyya Ağaoğlu Sokak in Nişantaşı.

Founding chef Ufuk Ügümü and his team made the croissants in the kitchen upstairs, rolling the dough by hand. Before long, Kruvasan had become part of the neighbourhood's daily life.

That same October, Kruton opened in the shop right next door. It ran there for a while, until Kruvasan's growth folded that space into Kruvasan too. The Kruton name, though, would come back years later.

The first shop at night: an illuminated Kruvasan sign, green walls, a wooden counter, orange stools and a staircase to the upper floor.
A young cook in a white chef's jacket and dark apron standing behind a steel service counter in a white-tiled kitchen.
The Kruton sign in yellow neon at night; inside, wine racks, cheeses hanging in netting from the ceiling, and guests at white-clothed tables.

2018

In 2018, Lokanta Kru opened.

Lokanta Kru was a table fed by Aegean cooking, where olive-oil dishes, salads and plates for sharing took the lead. But the real idea was never just the food. It was a place that kept alive long hours at the table, sharing, a sense of family and the culture of the neighbourhood.

Before long, Lokanta Kru had become a meeting place of its own, standing for the warmer, more generous side of the kitchen.

Lokanta Kru's green-tiled exterior sign with gold lettering; a wooden awning, ivy and terracotta pots.
Three bowls of asure (Noah's pudding) shot from above; 'Lokanta Kru' engraved into the concrete wall behind.
Broccoli and avocado salad in a white bowl, topped with sliced strawberries, mint, basil and dill.

2020

In 2020, Salamura Şarküteri opened.

It was a small shop, but its shelves were full of cheeses, charcuterie and carefully chosen products from producers across Turkey. Working directly with producers in different regions, Ufuk Ügümü put together a wide, high-quality selection you could not find just anywhere.

That selection did not stay on Salamura's shelves; the kitchens of Kruvasan and Lokanta Kru drew on it too. And the neighbourhood could take the same products home from Salamura as part of their daily shopping.

Salamura's storefront: a handwritten sign on a beige brick wall, a lit display case with charcuterie, wheels of cheese and jars.
A cook in a white jacket carrying cheeses, olives and dark cherries on an oval wooden board.
Cheese on toasted bread on a white surface, beside a metal dish of jam with a fork and a slice of brie.

2025

Under One Roof

In September 2025, Kruvasan left its first shop and moved to its new home on Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi.

With that move, the kitchens that had grown in different shops over the years came back together. Kruvasan's bakery, the dishes and olive-oil plates from Lokanta Kru, Salamura's selection of products and Kruton's table now met under one roof.

Around the same time, Denizhan Ügümü took charge of production, taking on the bread, croissants and daily baking.

The new address held another meaning for the family.

  1. First generation

    • A young cook in an old print: white hat and jacket, a patterned scarf at the neck, leaning an arm on the back of a chair.

      Talip Ügümü

      Grandfather

      Founded Hünkar

  2. Second generation

    • A cook with glasses and a grey beard, a patterned apron over a white jacket, smiling and holding a plate on a marble counter.

      Feridun Ügümü

      Uncle

      Carried Hünkar on

    • A chef in a white jacket holding a large dessert tray, head turned to the side, glasses hanging on a cord at the neck.

      Galip Ügümü

      Father

      Carried Hünkar on

  3. Third generation

    • A bearded chef in a white jacket sitting outdoors, holding a coffee cup in both hands and smiling.

      Ufuk Ügümü

      Elder brother

      Kruvasan's founding chef; runs Hünkar today

    • A young chef in a white jacket standing with arms crossed, a stainless steel kitchen in the background.

      Denizhan Ügümü

      Younger brother

      Entrusted with Kruvasan and Kruton

Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi is the street where the Ügümü family's food story in Nişantaşı has run for many years. Hünkar began with Talip Ügümü, continued with Feridun Ügümü and Galip Ügümü, and today carries on under Ufuk Ügümü.

Kruvasan's story began in 2015. But the relationship with food had taken shape much earlier, at family tables and in Hünkar's kitchen.

Years later, moving Kruvasan to that same street set the kitchen culture handed down by the family side by side, once again, with the story they had built themselves.

Today, Kruvasan İstanbul greets the day and Kruton greets the evening. The products, habits and ideas left by the different tables set up over the years keep living inside the same kitchen.