Pleasanton Turkish Restaurant Donating Food Sales To Earthquake

PLEASANTON, CA — Lokanta, a Mediterranean restaurant in Pleasanton with Turkish owners, will donate all its food sales Wednesday to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.

The proceeds from all food bought Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. will be donated to help the cause, a restaurant employee confirmed to Patch.

Owners Dogan Ozdogan and Muhammet Culha are both Turkey natives who moved to Pleasanton to open a restaurant together. Neither have lost friends or family in the earthquake, according to the employee, but help is critical: as of Feb. 21, over 48,900 deaths have been confirmed in Turkey and Syria a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck February 6, according to Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.

The earthquake is the deadliest seismic event in Turkey since the year 526 AD, according to the BBC.

Ozdogan and Culha opened Lokanta - Turkish for “meeting place” several years ago in the former location of Agora Bistro, according to an East Bay Times feature. The menu features a fusion of Turkish, Mediterranean, and Californian dishes, including gyros, kebabs, babaganoush, flaming cheese, spanakopita, musakka and more.

A number of Bay Area organizations and Turkish groups are also helping with earthquake relief. See here for ways to help.