James Beard Award-winning chef Ana Sortun adds her culinary voice to Allston’s evolution by expanding her popular Cambridge bakery. Table. New fast-casual restaurants are emerging as the surrounding neighborhood undergoes seismic change. Nearby streets are lined with construction crews and massive building projects, including the American Repertory Theatre’s new performance center.

Sortun recalled how at least seven years ago staffing and production demands overwhelmed the original Sofra’s cozy corner building across from Mount Auburn Cemetery. So he embarked on a quest bigger outpost. co-owner of Sofra and Winding In Somerville, with flagship restaurant oleana In Cambridge, he set his sights on a freestanding Allston spot owned by Harvard University.

Its now 5,000-square-foot interior has the same saffron tones, earthy color palette and informal atmosphere as Cambridge Table. “There’s definitely an ambiance and a kind of personality,” Sortun said, “that you notice right away when you walk in the door.”

Sofra in Turkish means picnic, dining table or small rug for eating. Sortun is known for his creative approaches to traditional dishes from countries such as Türkiye, Lebanon and Greece. Containers of delicious homemade sauces and vibrant salads are neatly stacked in refrigerated boxes. The menu includes tagine, spanakopita and moussaka, as well as carefully prepared cookies and handmade crackers. There’s also Sofra’s dedicated appetizer bar, featuring hummus, tzatziki and other Middle Eastern-inspired delicacies.

The new cafe’s dining area has around 35 seats for customers, compared to around 17 in Cambridge. More than 100 colorfully painted wooden spoons from Turkey are expertly hung on the wall. These were gifted to Sortun by a collector who had been collecting them throughout his life. “He wanted someone to have them who could display them to the public,” he said. Similar spoons are used in traditional dances in Turkey.

The biggest difference between the two locations is the size of the sweet and savory bakery production area in Allston. “Because the other area is really tight,” Sortun said, “we really wanted to get the bakers into a cafeteria area.” His team hired additional employees to meet demand in Cambridge, but there wasn’t enough space. “This would cause a lot of congestion and traffic jams,” Sortun said, “Our productivity would drop, and it would be really hard to do what we need.”

From now on, all handmade baked goods, from chocolate earthquake cookies to fragrant almond rose cakes, will be prepared at the new Sofra. much bigger Production area that will serve both locations.

Sortun’s business partner, Maura Kilpatrick, will lead the expanded baking program with pastry chef Feyza Bayrakçıoğlu from Turkey. Now huge, state-of-the-art ovens will allow them to bake 20 racks of cookies at a time.

“These are all incredibly labor-intensive foods, and the really big oven is also very precise,” Sortun said of the made-from-scratch pastries. They also have a machine called a dough depositor, which looks like a giant pasta machine. “It basically makes cookie balls,” she explained, “And we had to hand pick it up from the other place.”

Sortun said that Yeni Sofra’s 32 employees can’t wait to go to work while waiting for the fire inspections to be completed. It will take time for everyone, including chef du cuisine, chef Pri Paige, to find their own rhythm in the new space. “It’s like when you move into a new apartment or house and you don’t even know where the light switches are,” Sortun said.

Being a hub for the community is a priority for the 57-year-old chef. That’s what drew him to Allston. “That’s part of our model,” he said, “we love being part of a neighborhood that’s changing and growing. “I think one of the best feelings is when you open something for a neighborhood and a few years later they feel like it’s theirs.”