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May 17, 2002/Sivan 6, 5762, Vol. 54, No.35
Albertson's goes kosher
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Two Phoenix Albertson's bakeries are now under the kosher supervision of the Orthodox Union.
The bakeries - located in Albertson's grocery stores at 1625 E. Camelback Road and 10665 N. Tatum Blvd. - celebrated their grand opening on May 15.
Each store converted its entire bakery last week to meet kosher specifications and will offer bread, cookies, cakes, birthday cakes, doughnuts, rolls and bagels, said Duane Morrison, store manager at the Camelback location.
Both bakeries will be open for business seven days a week.
Rabbi Chaim Silver of Young Israel of Phoenix initiated the move about three years ago and gained support from other local Orthodox rabbis.
On May 7, employees of both bakeries attended an orientation led by Rabbi Leonard Steinberg of the OU, to learn about kashrut. The next day, Silver kashered the bakeries' ovens by blowtorching them. By 2 a.m., May 9, bakery workers began baking kosher goods.
All products are kosher, pareve and pas yis- roel (bread and bakery products baked by a Jew). To ensure the latter, a special computer chip was put into the oven to set the default temperature at 200 degrees, Silver said. If the temperature drops below 150 degrees or the oven is turned off, a code must be entered to turn it back on.
"(To be pas yisroel,) a Jew needs to be part of the baking process," he explained. "I'm the only one in town with the code, and I go and I turn (the oven) on."
Silver will visit both stores at least three times each week to ensure the bakery operations are following kosher guidelines.
The bakery's being open on Shabbat doesn't pose a problem according to Jewish law because the store is owned by a non-Jew, Silver said. "It is the OU policy that people should refrain from purchasing Saturday night up to two hours after Shabbat is over," he added. "Anything that is baked for a Jew on Shabbat, or done for a Jew, one cannot have benefit from that immediately after Shabbat," but should wait the amount of time it would take to bake it.
In addition to general bakery items, the Tatum store will offer wedding cakes, said Jay Dawson, bakery manager. Party trays, including cookie and bread-and-roll platters, will also be available.
"If (customers) want to make a suggestion on a product that they want, I'm sure Albertson's would really try to get it in for them," Dawson said.
A selection of kosher pareve and dairy products made by other vendors will also be available in the bakery area.
The two stores will test the level of demand for kosher goods in the Valley and will determine if other Albertson's stores will follow suit, Silver said.
According to Albertson's spokeswoman Jeannette Duwe, the two Phoenix stores join 12 other Albertson's stores nationwide in having a kosher bakery and are the first two in Arizona. The two local stores will also expand their kosher grocery selection, including fresh and frozen kosher meats, Duwe said.
Contact the writer at leisah_namm@jewishaz.com.
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