Two Ladies Bakery Brings European Sweets To Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A European-style bakery that got its start in Southampton has expanded its operations to Doylestown Borough.

Last week, Two Ladies Bakery opened a third location in the basement of 24 N. Main St in the heart of the borough. Their flagship café in Southampton, where all of their goods are baked, opened in May 2018, and in September of 2019, they expanded to Philadelphia.

"It was a boom for us," the owner, Charlie Ozkan, told Patch, though he defers all credit to the two ladies behind the counter: his wife, Anastasiia, and her sister, Ganna Ozguc, both of whom handmake everything from Russian cakes, pastries and cream puffs to Turkish staples such as baklava.

"I never thought it would be like this," Ozkan said of the bakery's success.

He has reason to be surprised. Four years ago, Ozkan and his family left Turkey not long after Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power, which marked a turning point in Turkish politics. Ozkan described the feeling of becoming disillusioned with the political and education system in his home country.

"We left Turkey because of the regime and the education system," said Ozkan, whose son is now in third grade at Council Rock School District. "I don't like someone telling my kid to read the Quran or the Bible, so I said, 'America is the place.'"

The family emigrated to Philadelphia in 2017 for a shot at the American dream, but they soon discovered the allure of Bucks County after looking through real estate listings in a local newspaper.

"The life pushed us to Bucks County," Ozkan recalls. "Most of it was luck."

After a business deal with a produce supplier went bad, the family decided to try selling baked goods from their home. They were a hit, and they soon realized they would need to open a storefront to take their business to the next level. Today, they have eight employees across three stores.

After expanding to Doylestown this year, they plan to open a fourth location in Hackensack, New Jersey, in a few short months.

As for what the future holds, Ozkan said he's just trying to enjoy the ride.

"The wind is behind me, and its pushing me, so I’m letting it take me."

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