Cafe Gulistan

Specialties

A taste of the MidEast, fine Kurdish cuisine, Turkish & Lebanese wines, an atmosphere that feels like home, with an air of the exotic.

History

Established in 1994.

Café Gulistan was established in 1994 by Ibrahim Parlak, a Kurd from Turkey.

Meet the Business Owner

Ibrahim P.

Business Owner

Ibrahim Parlak was raised in a small village in southern Turkey called Sakarat, which translates to «wild horses.» Feeding the family was about growing produce, raising livestock, and always great cooking. Ibrahim learned to cook from his mother, who fed the family of twelve for years without the benefit of electricity. Good cooking was the norm in his village.

Ibrahim came to the United States in 1991, choosing to live here because of the freedoms we enjoy. As he has said «When you don’t grow up with freedom, it is only an idea. When I found a place where it actually exists, I wanted to live there.» Living first in Chicago, and later in southwest Michigan he worked a series of jobs related to food service until he was able to start Café Gulistan in 1994.

The business has continued to grow over the years. Ibrahim was able to purchase the building in Harbert, Michigan. In 2007 the restaurant underwent extensive remodeling. It is a jewel of the community today.