WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Two formerly vacant restaurant spaces on South Main Street have come alive again.

On a rainy Thursday afternoon, White River Junction resident Tracie Gunion enjoyed a bite to eat in a new cafe and bakery downtown.

But instead of muffins and scones, this bakery serves mostly ancient Turkish wood-fired recipes.

“I’ve been waiting for this place to open,” said Gunion over a bowl of vegetable lentil soup and a side of pide (pronounced pee-day), a wood-fired Turkish flatbread, which she deemed “delicious.”

Cappadocia, a Turkish cafe and bakery, is the newest addition to White River Junction’s food scene as of Sept. 26. The bakery is at 5 South Main Street and is owned by White River Junction couple Jackie and Vural Oktay and Vural’s brother, Hasan Oktay, who lives in Essex Junction. It is named after a region in central Turkey.

Originally from Istanbul, Vural Oktay said opening a bakery is his “original dream.”

“I haven’t slept for three days,” he said. “I’ve been too excited.”

At 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, a steady flow of patrons filed in and ordered at the counter. A few people sat and chatted, while others typed on their laptops.

“It’s been amazing; the energy is fantastic,” said Holly Kasten, a front of house employee. “I have not seen an unhappy customer yet.”

The Oktays are not new to business. They also own Tuckerbox, the Turkish restaurant next door, and Istanbul Kebab House in Burlington. Vural and Jackie Oktay also own Little Istanbul, a Turkish gifts and spices store at 27 North Main Street in White River Junction, and a second store in Burlington as of August.

Cappadocia fills the space at 5 South Main Street, which had sat vacant since Piecemeal Pies closed and filed for bankruptcy in May 2023.

Vural Oktay pointed to the vegan lahmacun (pronounced lah-mah-june): “I’m so happy to share this with my beautiful community.”

Lahmacun is a flatbread topped with minced tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices and served with a side of shredded lettuce, onions, parsley and a slice of lemon. The dish is eaten by placing the veggies on top, squeezing the lemon juice on and rolling the flatbread up.

The Oktays initially planned to open Cappadocia in the spring but their bakers from Turkey could not secure visas, delaying the process. The Oktays subsequently found Sinan Guneri and Omer Kirkaya, Turkish bakers already living in the U.S.

Both Guneri and Kirkaya grew up in restaurants. Kirkaya said he put himself through school by working in kitchens. The two men had been living in New Jersey and said although it’s small, they like Vermont so far.

Many of the recipes Guneri and Kirkaya are baking date back thousands of years.

“You don’t have to re-invent the wheel,” said Jackie Oktay.

Along with the ancient breads, baker Gazi Ari makes berry-filled cakes available by the slice from a display case.

The crown jewel of the bakery is the 4,000-pound, intricately decorated wood-fired oven. Built in California, getting the oven into its place required an engineer and the construction of a special support wall in the basement of the building to make sure it wouldn’t fall through the floor. Jackie Oktay said it cost $5,000 just to move it off of the truck and into its spot and estimates they spent upwards of $80,000 in total on the oven.

Ben Carrier, of Bellows Falls-based Vermont Tile Company, used colorful tiles to ornament the oven with the Cappadocia skyline complete with hot air balloons.

In addition to the food, the cafe also has a selection of drinks including Turkish tea and coffee, Ayran (a salty, cooling, Middle Eastern yogurt drink) and homemade lemonade. The Oktays are awaiting a liquor license in order to serve mimosas, wine, beer and a clear Turkish alcohol called raki.

Down the street at 129 South Main St. is another new family owned eatery, REDCAN. The oyster bar and restaurant owned by husband and wife Jason and Leslie Merrill opened in June. The Merrills, who live in Tunbridge, spoke to a reporter inside the not-so-secret speakeasy.

“People love the food and love the vibe,” said Leslie Merrill. “The speakeasy is a huge hit.”

The idea for the 1920s prohibition-era theme of the restaurant came from the couple’s history-loving 13-year-old daughter, Claire. In the fall of last year, while watching a documentary about the prohibition era with her mother, Claire turned to Leslie and suggested the new restaurant should have a speakeasy, Leslie immediately texted Jason, who agreed.

Jason is the head chef and has spent over 30 years in the restaurant business. He is still a partner at Worthy Vermont, which owns and operates Worthy Burger in South Royalton and Worthy Kitchen in Woodstock. Leslie is a dental hygienist at Mascoma Dental Associates in Lebanon a few days a week and does a lot of the management, accounting and sometimes front-of-house jobs at the restaurant.

REDCAN operates in the space that was previously occupied by Trail Break, a Tex-Mex restaurant which closed its White River Junction location last November to avoid employee burnout. Trail Break is now open seasonally from April to October on Woodstock Road in Quechee and operates two taco trailers and a taco truck, which it uses for catering.

The Merrills signed the lease for the space in winter 2023, and the three-month build-out began in March of this year.

Most of REDCAN’s ingredients come from within 30 miles of the restaurant. Jason Merrill said he saw the need for locally focused, small-plate fine dining in the area.

The restaurant is named after Jason’s late mother’s favorite drink, Coca-Cola in a red can.

Leslie Merrill described working with her husband as “easy as pie.”

“We’re a ridiculously easy team,” said Jason. “We established boundaries and have designated jobs, so it’s just smooth.”

While the restaurant’s website describes the menu as “modern American cuisine,” it includes an array of dishes such as Korean BBQ fried chicken bao buns, crab cakes, toasted quinoa and fried calamari.

In addition to sit-down dining, the restaurant also has an oyster raw bar. The oysters mostly come from Massachusetts and Maine.

“What makes this restaurant different is the owners and our team,” server Michelle Knight said. “The best people work here, and Leslie and Jason show so much appreciation for us.”

Knight quit her health care job to work at REDCAN full-time.

“I look forward to coming to work now,” she said.

On Thanksgiving Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., REDCAN will be serving free meals to community members who otherwise may not have a place to go for the holiday. The menu will include turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, veggies, stuffing and dessert.

“Seeing the traffic we get here and the need, we just thought why not?” said Leslie Merrill. The staff has decided to volunteer their time to help cook and pass out the to-go meals. Afterward there will be a meal for the staff and their families as well.

In the future, the Merrills hope to be open for lunch a few days a week and plan to open a patio next summer, which will add an additional 25 seats for their current occupancy limit of 92 people.

“White River Junction has turned around, and it’s really the restaurants that did it,” said Gunion. “I don’t have to go anywhere; everything is right here.”

Cappadocia is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Wednesday, and REDCAN is open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.