Success Story
Cardiff-based Turkish restaurant Longa expanded to a second site thanks to funding from the Investment Fund for Wales through appointed fund managers BCRS Business Loans.
| Region/Nation | Wales |
|---|---|
| Sector | Hospitality, Accommodation and Food Service Activities |
| Programme | Investment Fund for Wales |
| Partner |
Longa, a Turkish restaurant brand led by three women, has expanded by opening a new 100-seat venue in Cardiff city centre, creating 16 additional jobs.
Originally launched on Whitchurch Road in 2019, Longa has become a beloved eatery for both locals and visitors. Known for its menus that celebrate the rich and diverse flavours of Turkish cuisine, the new Park Place location offers an all-day breakfast menu and a separate evening menu to attract a broader clientele.
Founded in 2019 by sisters Gizum Yorgun and Simge Yalcin, Longa now has three women at the helm with the addition of actress Pinar Ogun in 2023. This new venture was made possible with a £120,000 finance package from BCRS Business Loans, through the British Business Bank’s £130m Investment Fund for Wales and the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF), managed by Social Investment Scotland (SIS).
Our Whitchurch Road café has been a great success and we knew it was only a matter of time before we dipped our toes into the possibility of opening a second restaurant, but we needed to find for the perfect premises.
When we saw the space on Park Place we knew that it was perfect, but with spiralling costs, due to changes in construction and building quotes, we needed further support to realise our dreams.
- Simge Yalcin Co-founder, Longa
BCRS’ support goes so much further than helping us to secure finance, Niki has been overwhelmingly positive in supporting our entire venture.
Longa in Park Place has only been open for a matter of weeks, but we are already seeing the impact. Just this weekend we saw over 300 covers and our bookings for the weekends are huge! We can’t wait for more people to experience our food, after all it’s pretty amazing to sit back and watch their reactions, all the while knowing we created that plate.
- Pinar Ogun Co-owner, Longa
Tags related to this content:
Quick links
More success stories
Read a success story about Podfather
Cloud-based logistics software business Podfather received a £3.4 million investment to support their ambitious growth strategy.
Read a success story about Sky-Pin Drones
Melrose-based entrepreneur offers advanced crop spraying services using state-of the-art supersized drone following funding from the Investment Fund for Scotland.
Read a success story about Scotmas
B-Corp accredited specialist water treatment technologies business, Scotmas secured £2.2 million in equity funding to support its international expansion plans.