Zach Erdem, Owner of 75 Main, Is Living His American Dream

Zach Erdem, the owner of the restaurants 75 Main and Blu Mar in Southampton Village, is living the American dream.

He came to the United States from his native Turkey about 20 years ago with $20 in his pocket — and now owns two of the most successful restaurants on the East End, which provided the setting for a reality series, “Serving the Hamptons,” on the Discovery+ streaming service this year.

Erdem, 41, was raised in Musaga Komu, Turkey, where he was born in 1981 in a cave. He worked as a shepherd from when he was 11 years old to when he was about 17.

While he was raising his animals on a mountain in his home country, living a very modest lifestyle, with six brothers sharing the same bed, he often dreamed of moving to America to make a better life for himself.

He was able to go to college at Edirne University, and once there decided that he would try to continue his studies in the United States, applying for a student visa, despite teasing from his college friends that he would never make it.

Even though the visa agency he was working with even tried to convince him that he would never be approved, Erdem used every dollar he had in Turkey for the visa application, telling the agency, “I’ll take a chance.”

Despite having no money and nowhere to go once he got to America, he was approved for a visa. The day his visa was approved, he danced and cheered on the front patio of the American consulate.

“I jumped on the patio and threw myself all over,” said Erdem. “I was screaming, ‘I’m going to America!’”

He bought a one-way ticket to New York City, bringing just the bare necessities with him: a backpack, two shirts, two pairs of pants and a yellow, paper English dictionary.

In 2002, Erdem arrived at JFK Airport with no plan, and had no idea of where to go — he had just $20 in his pocket, and his bus ticket from the airport to Manhattan was $13.50.

He realized that his only option was to live on the streets. He chose to sleep during the day, because it was safer, and he wandered the city at night.

Only one of his friends knew he was homeless, and he put him on a bus to the Hamptons, telling him he might have better prospects here.

Unsure of where he was, he wandered around Southampton Village, hoping to find a McDonald’s to save some money. But he ended up walking into 75 Main. He ordered a burger and a Diet Coke, pausing to ask the bartender how much it was, unsure if he could afford both his lunch and a bus ticket back to the city.

He mentioned that he was looking for work, and the bartender called the restaurant owner, Dr. June Spirer.

Erdem was hired as a dishwasher.

“I was so hungry,” said Erdem. “I was working 20, 22, 24 hours a day. I would close the whole restaurant. I was cleaning the whole building.

“I was so thankful to those people — they gave me a chance,” he added.

Erdem had tried to find work in the city before coming out east, but said he was rejected by the Turkish community. That made him even more grateful for the opportunities he was given at 75 Main.

“The Americans give you credit when you work hard,” said Erdem. “The Turks push you to the edge and throw you to the ocean — they will not help you.”

After a few months of working as a dishwasher, he was hired to work for Nello, a different restaurant, where Blu Mar currently is located. He gave a week’s notice. The manager was shocked he gave notice at all, but Erdem said, “I am so thankful to you guys, I can’t do that.”

While working in the restaurants, Erdem learned English, taking lessons from other staff members, who pushed him to be independent.

He had been too scared to call his mother when he first got to America — and couldn’t afford the long-distance calls. As the months passed, she worried that he had died, he said.

The first time he was able to call, he only had 40 seconds left on his calling card to talk to her before the call cut off.

But upon hearing his voice, he said that she burst into tears as he cheered, “Mom, I made it! I made it!”

After eight years working at Nello, both in Southampton and in New York City, and working his way up the ranks to become a manager, the restaurant changed hands, and Erdem was fired. He ventured back to Main Street in Southampton, where he had gotten his start, and noticed a sign on the window of 75 Main that said “under construction.”

He texted Spirer, the restaurant’s owner who gave him a job all those years before, and they spent seven hours on the phone — a phone call that resulted in her offering to sell him the restaurant.

The next day, Erdem flew her to New York from Boca Raton to sign the papers to sell him the restaurant.

“She said, ‘You are the only one who will carry this restaurant,’” Erdem said of her confidence in his ability to make the restaurant flourish.

He signed the ownership papers for the business and a 10-year lease on the building in May 2010.

“I sat down across the street from 75 Main, and I cried,” he said. “The whole world changed with this restaurant, and in 10 years you come back and end up buying this whole place — it was a true American dream.”

While Erdem originally told his mother he wouldn’t return to Turkey until he made it in America, now he makes multiple trips to see his family each year.

He applies the same kindness to his staff that was given to him, taking opportunities to learn something new from the dishwashers and busboys every day, he said.

“He is a great boss,” said Mia Kucuk, one of Erdem’s Blu Mar employees. “He is so friendly with the workers. He is not just a boss.”

Friends of Erdem point out his personality is what makes 75 Main flourish.

“The whole success of the restaurant is due in part to his personality,” said Steve Cooper of Manhattan. Cooper said he returns to 75 Main because of the food and ambiance of the restaurant and because of Erdem.

In December 2020, Erdem took the next step and was able to buy the building that houses his restaurant. The first night afterward, he took a pillow off one of the booths and slept on the floor to remind himself of where he had come from. His goal in owning the restaurant has been to stay humble.

Erdem said no matter how successful he is, how much money he makes or how many houses he is able to buy — the apartment above 75 Main will always be his home.

“Never forget where you started from,” said Erdem.