Beyaz Fırın

The history of Beyaz Fırın began in the middle of the 19th century in Balat. The Simit shop opened by great-grandfather Kozma Stoyanof in Balat, where he went to his uncle’s house and settled down, leaving his family behind, became the place where the story of Beyaz Fırın and his family over 5 generations began. Kosma Stoyanof had 3 sons. When Dimitri, one of his sons, moved to her side with her wife Katina, Kosma opened three bakeries for his three sons. Petro was in a shop in Sarıyer, where it is currently Sarıyer Börekçisi. Grigor was responsible for the bakery in Karaköy. But Dimitri in Üsküdar and Petro in Sarıyer supported each other as they promised their father Kosma. It was 1920 when Dimitri Stoyanof took over the bakery in Üsküdar among the staff in Karaköy, Üsküdar and Sarıyer and then settled down with his family in Kadıköy. Thus began the history of Beyaz Fırın on the Anatolian side.

The flourishing business in Üsküdar prompted Dimitri to open another shop in Kadıköy. First they became partners of Cumhuriyet Fırını in the city centre. While paying their debts, Dimitri and Grigor joined the tender of the Turkey Maritime Organisation in 1931 and took over the management of the stand in front of the Haydarpaşa station. The Stoyanof family had started to run the booth next to the port of Kadıköy, apart from the bakery in the downtown area of Kadıköy and the booth in Haydarpaşa. When the business became busy, Dimitri took the present Beyaz Fırın and stood in Kadıköy, Grigor took over the bakery in Üsküdar. The night Grigory won the tender for the stand in Karaköy, everything was plunged into darkness with two shots he heard while walking on the Galata Bridge.

After Dimitri’s death, difficult days also began with the beginning of the Second World War. When they could not find raw materials for both bakeries, they closed down the stalls and Cumhuriyet Fırını and continued their business in today’s Beyaz Fırın in Kadıköy. The 1940s, when flour and sugar were rationed, had been hard days for Beyaz Fırın as for the whole country. The bakery, which suffered from its main ingredients, could survive almost only by selling almond biscuits. Since almond biscuits did not contain flour, they were made from eggs, sugar, hazelnuts and some bitter almonds. Hard times in the 1980s had been the starting point for Potato Rolls by Beyaz Fırın, which still retained its fame. Since it was not possible to sell old-fashioned pastries and savoury rolls at a certain price due to the implementation of the maximum price, Mitko decided to use alternative solutions like many craftsmen of that time. They started to make potato rolls instead of savoury rolls and stuffed vegetables instead of pastries. The implantation of the ceiling price did not last long and hearty rolls were sold again with pastry. But potato rolls have left their mark in the hearts of Beyaz’s customers Fırın as one of the centennial flavors.

In years, Beyaz Fırın has witnessed Turkish history. When Mitko joined, the idea of opening a new shop became a topic. After Kadıköy the first store to open was Cemil Topuzlu. When it opened, this area was so quiet that many people were surprised by Mitko’s decision. But against the worries, the shop in Cemil Topuzlu Beyaz Fırın gave a new visitor. In 2003 Erenköy, 2005 Suadiye and 2008 Ataşehir will be opened. In 2015, Beyaz Fırın visited a shopping centre project for the first time and opened a new store in Akasya Shopping Center. Beyaz Fırın continued to produce with unchanging excitement throughout its two hundred year history from 1800 to today. The children’s friend of Kadıköy became the grandmother and grandfather of today, but their habits never changed. Children who came with the hands of their mothers and fathers now became guests of Beyaz Fırın with their grandchildren.