An Eastern Blend

Operated by chef TAN UCKAN and his wife, SEMRA, the recently opened Nil’s Mediterranean Cuisine in downtown Wilmington is the third installment of the successful restaurant in Fuquay-Varina and Angier.

The original iteration of Nil’s was a Turkish bakery, before becoming a Mediterranean cafe and lunch location and now its current iteration operated by the Uckans. When Tan Uckan was first approached about the possibility of running the restaurant – then just the Fuquay location – he was running a successful food truck in the area and was content doing just that. Semra Uckan, however, had another dream. Literally.

“She was in Turkey at the time,” Tan Uckan says, “and she called saying she had a dream that we had a small cafe restaurant.” When he told Semra Uckan that he had an offer for such a location in front of him and was leaning away from getting involved, she nudged him in the other direction.

“For me, opening a restaurant was never just about business; it was about rebuilding our life,” Semra Uckan says. “In my mind, the restaurant was a place where everything would come together – our family, our story, our effort and our love. And in a way, it did exactly that. After so many years apart, working together didn’t just build a business; it helped heal the distance between us.”

The couple, who met in high school, ended up spending nearly ten years apart, with Tan in the U.S. and Semra in Turkey. “No matter the distance, we stayed connected,” she says. “Looking back, I believe what makes our story special is that we didn’t just fall in love once. We chose each other again and again, even when life made it hard.”

Semra’s background is in finance, while Tan has always been passionate about food. With him at the helm in the kitchen, Semra Uckan is actively involved in shaping the overall experience from customer relationships to atmosphere.

“We always said we want our guests to feel comfortable enough to ask for food the way they would from their mothers,” she says. “That sense of trust and warmth is very important to us.”

The menu includes Greek and Turkish staples, including falafel and tabbouleh, as well as entrees such as shakshuka and a Mediterranean Stew Bowl.

A kofte platter combines a colorful medley of meatballs, rice, Turkish bean salad, tzatziki, hummus, pickled red cabbage, spicy pepper sauce and pita bread.

“We’re offering a little bit of an upscale, modern fusion of Mediterranean food with a lot of Turkish flavors,” Tan Uckan says.

Being from Turkey and “born next to the sea,” the couple finds Wilmington a natural spot for both their family and their restaurant. “Because Wilmington is a coastal city, we felt that Mediterranean cuisine would be a perfect fit,” Semra Uckan says. “It feels like a place where our concept naturally belongs.”

In his other locations, Tan Uckan has set about establishing a menu that relies on his customers’ preferences to guide him.

“We test what they like, what they don’t like, and then we change what we need to,” he says. “We made a menu for all the customers and their favorites.”

Tan Uckan plans to do the same with the Wilmington menu.

“We’re going to go with the flow,” he says. “I want people to not only enjoy the food but that Mediterranean vibe – you know chill, no rush, no pressure.”

The restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner (11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday), and, if the appetite is there for the Wilmington location, Tan Uckan is open to bringing Sunday brunch service eventually as well.

Overall, the Uckans have a why not approach to it all. Why not transition from food truck to restaurant? Why not expand into multiple locations? Why not adjust the menu based on customer needs?

“This part of North Carolina is growing up (in regards to) food, and why not?” Tan Uckan says. “This location came up, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.”

To view more of photographer Megan Deitz’s work, go to megandeitz.com.

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