Dürümle opens a restaurant at Ankara Next Level mall, what to weigh before a mall branch?
Dürümle, a Turkish wrap restaurant chain, has opened its restaurant at Next Level, a shopping mall in Ankara (Perakende.org, 7 October 2026). The restaurant sits in unit 1B98 of the mall on Eskişehir Yolu, in the Çankaya district. Here’s something most people don’t know: according to the brand’s own website, its very first branch opened in Ankara too, in 2018. Today the same website says it runs more than 200 restaurants in 35 cities.
What it means for you: a fast-growing chain is moving into another mall in its home city. For a restaurant owner, the real question is when a mall branch keeps the till ringing and when it just pays the rent. There are a few measures to weigh before you make that call.
What do we know about Dürümle’s new restaurant at Next Level mall?
We know the address and the menu, and little else. The report places the restaurant in Kızılırmak neighbourhood, inside Next Level, which Turks would call an AVM, the local term for a shopping mall. The opening day, whether it is a franchise or company-owned, the investment, floor area and headcount are not in the report.
How much has Dürümle’s branch count changed since 2018?
It has grown fast. In a July 2023 report by Ekonomi Gazetesi, a Turkish business daily, Dürümle CEO Fatih Özçanak said the chain had reached 95 restaurants, 9 of them franchises. Dürümle’s corporate page now says it has more than 200 restaurants in 35 cities. The two sources come from different dates and different speakers, but the direction is clear.
How is opening a restaurant in a mall different from opening on the high street?
In a mall, the mall brings the customers, and in return the mall sets the rules. On the high street, the window, the hours and the sign are yours. A mall branch is a bit like grabbing a table at a crowded wedding: plenty of guests, but everyone walks to the same buffet and you do not choose your seat.
Who does Dürümle’s mall opening affect, and how?
It affects fast-food restaurants in the same mall the most. In autumn 2026, every chain opening a quick-service restaurant in an Ankara mall competes for the same visitor. Those with a clear price, speed and menu gain ground, while independents with a similar menu struggle.
How do customers find a mall restaurant branch online?
They find it through its own location listing and an exact address. Finding a restaurant inside a mall on a map takes more than finding one on the street; customers find the mall but not the unit. That is why the unit number, floor and mall name should be spelled out on the business profile.
What should a restaurant owner considering a mall branch do this week?
This week, put three measures on paper: the tenant mix at the target mall, rent as a share of expected monthly sales, and sales per square metre at your current branch. Once the three sit side by side, it becomes clear whether a mall branch makes sense.
Quick Summary
- Dürümle opened its restaurant at Next Level mall in Ankara (Perakende.org, 7 October 2026).
- According to the brand’s website, its first branch opened in Ankara in 2018, and it now has more than 200 restaurants in 35 cities (durumle.com).
- In July 2023, according to Özçanak, the chain had 95 restaurants, 9 of them franchises (Ekonomi Gazetesi).
- The opening date, investment amount and whether the branch is a franchise are not in the report.
- A mall branch decision should rest on tenant mix, sales per square metre and lease terms.
Short Glossary
- Tenant mix
- Tenant mix is the term used to describe which shops and restaurants share space in a mall.
- Sales per square metre
- Sales per square metre is the measure used to track how much revenue each square metre of a unit brings in.
- Franchise
- Franchise is the business model used to let another investor run a business under a brand’s name and way of working, on agreed terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
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Sources: Perakende.org, 7 October 2026 · Dürümle corporate page, durumle.com · Ekonomi Gazetesi, July 2023
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Next to classics such as kebab, chicken shish and döner, the menu features crispy lavash flatbread, cheddar, special sauces and shoestring fries. The report gives Cheddarlı Kebap Dürüm, a cheddar kebab wrap, and Özel Soslu Tavuk Dürüm, a chicken wrap with special sauce, as examples.
It is not clear. The report uses the phrase “new restaurant” but does not say whether the mall had a Dürümle branch before. So it is safer not to read this opening as a “first”.
No. It only says the brand has branches across Türkiye and aims to reach more locations. The only basis for a number is the brand’s own website, which says “more than 200”.
In the same report, according to Özçanak, annual revenue was TL 760 million and the chain sold to around 1.5 million people a month. These are 2023 figures and do not show today’s position.
The plans in that report included expanding to high-street and other non-mall locations, plus operations abroad. Today’s mall opening shows the chain does not tie itself to a single type of location.
Franchising is a model in which a brand lets another investor run a restaurant under its name and its way of working, on agreed terms. Dürümle accepts franchise applications on its website. Which model the Next Level branch uses is not in the report.
Tenant mix is the term for which shops and restaurants sit side by side in a mall. If several wrap shops stand next to you, visitors split between you. At the negotiating table, ask which brands will be your neighbours.
Sales per square metre shows how much each square metre of your unit brings in. It lets you set the rent against what the space can actually earn. If the rent is high and sales per square metre are low, the till does not keep up.
Ask who sets the opening and closing hours and which shared costs, such as common area charges, appear on the invoice. Check every item in the lease with the official source and your lawyer; this is not legal or financial advice.
Mall management, if visitor traffic rises, and businesses in a different category on the same floor, such as dessert shops and cafés, can gain. After a meal, the coffee and dessert spend goes next door.
Independent restaurants selling wraps, döner and kebab in the same mall or around Eskişehir Yolu struggle. A chain’s menu and name recognition help customers decide at the door.
Suppliers of lavash, meat and packaging to restaurants can take an indirect share of a chain’s growth. For a case that targets shoppers through a different category, look at Tchibo’s non-food campaign.
The profile should give the mall name, the unit number and the mall’s opening hours. A detail like the 1B98 unit number in the Dürümle report stops customers from getting lost inside the building.
The new branch’s delivery zone and menu must be set up correctly on each platform. A branch with the wrong address cannot take orders, and customers turn away at the door.
Dürümle’s website mentions a goal of entering the global market. For businesses that plan to sell products or packaged goods across borders, the EU’s €3 e-commerce duty affects the price calculation.
Watch the food court at lunch on a weekday and at dinner on a weekend. Note which restaurants have a queue and which stand empty. Also watch which entrance visitors use and which route they walk to the food court; your unit’s visibility depends on that route.
Pull your current branch’s daily sales and best-selling items. That data tells you which menu to open with in a mall. Turning data into a decision table is the work we do in digital consulting. We follow similar openings on our retail page, where we interpret retail news for you.
Now you know: a mall opening is not proof of success on its own. A branch opened before weighing tenant mix, sales per square metre and the lease terms burns money on rent. Dürümle’s pace is the headline, but your own branch needs those measures filled in one by one.
The report does not give an opening date. It was published on 7 October 2026.
According to the brand’s own website, it has more than 200 restaurants in 35 cities. No exact number is given.
There is no single answer. Do not decide before comparing rent, tenant mix and sales per square metre.