NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- Shoppers seeking elegant, classical and even avant-garde furniture have a new option in Northeast Ohio.

Zebrano recently opened its doors, with a 9,000-square-foot Great Northern Mall location in North Olmsted.

“Zebrano furniture is a very well-known brand in the Middle East, Europe and Russia,” said co-owner Yilnaz Goral. “It’s all high-quality furniture.

“We do interior design of houses and commercial spaces. We do custom-made furniture. It’s luxury, but price-wise, we’re affordable.”

Founded in 1985, Turkey-based Zebrano has nearly 40 shops around the world. 

As far as finding a location in North Olmsted, Goral said it came down to demographics.

“I’m targeting Middle Eastern people, Muslims, Russians, Ukrainians and Asian for Zebrano,” Goral said. “They live around North Olmsted, Westlake and Parma. That’s part of the reason we wanted to move to that area.

“Also, Zebrano is a very well-known brand. Me and my partners brought that name to the United States. They have five luxury furniture stores in Columbus that are changing to Zebrano as well.”

Nearly two years ago, the Turkish native and recent New York City transplant left the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple.

“In New York City, it takes two hours to get anywhere,” said Goral, who now calls Solon home. “There’s a lot of traffic, a lot of crowds and it’s ridiculously expensive. I have two kids, so I wanted to go someplace that is family friendly with good schools.

“I looked all over and finally decided to go to Cleveland.

“Also, I used to sell regular furniture when I lived in New York. So when I moved to Cleveland, I wanted to offer something different, something unique.”

So far, Goral said customer responses to Zebrano have been overwhelmingly positive, with one common question asked after visiting the store.

“They ask me, ‘Why are we in North Olmsted and not in Hollywood, California or New York?’” Goral said. “I tell them, if I’m successful, I’ll go other places. But we’ll start here. We’re focused on success at this location right now.”