Accused Rapist's Istanbul Sofra Restaurant Sold

PITTSBURGH, PA - Istanbul Sofra, one of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants before owner Adnan Hilton Pehlivan was arrested last year on rape charges, has been sold. The eatery was purchased by former Sofra chef Edip Sensil and a business partner.

The restaurant on Braddock Avenue in Regent Square, remodeled and renamed Sahara, is expected to open next week, Triblive reported.

Pehlivan, of Swissvale, is awaiting trial on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of an unconscious person, burglary, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and simple assault.

A criminal complaint states that Pehlivan bought the alleged victim and her friends drinks at Kopy's bar on the South Side. She did not provide Pehlivan with her address or phone number.

According to the complaint, the alleged victim was sleeping in her South Side residence later that night when she awoke to find the man from the bar sexually assaulting her. She began fighting him and he punched her to escape, only to momentarily return to retrieve a suit jacket that he had left.

Pehlivan also owns the adjacent building, the former Ryan’s pub, which he had renovated and was about to reopen as Hilton’s Lounge prior to his arrest. The bar never opened and reportedly is on the market.

Photo via Allegheny County Jail.

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