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July 18, 2003/Tamuz 18 5763, Vol. 55, No. 47
The Kosher Store open year round
JESSICA BARBER
Staff Writer
Brandon Budd, owner of The Kosher Store, will expand the business into the Scottsdale Kosher Market.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Budd
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The Kosher Store in Scottsdale has morphed through many changes since it opened as The Passover Pantry last March, and will soon become a larger, year-round entity offering kosher products to Valley Jews.
Through a partnership with Chabad of Arizona, owner Brandon Budd will expand the store to create the Scottsdale Kosher Market - a store offering pre-packaged kosher food, prepared foods and a deli counter. The store will also incorporate Chabad of Scottsdale's Mazel Tov Gifts in order to offer customers a Judaica section.
"It's going to be all-encompassing," says Budd. "We had a tremendous response during Passover. The community has told us that they want this. This isn't something we wanted to do for ourselves. It's something we wanted to do for Scottsdale and the Greater Phoenix area."
Budd also plans to sell many Israeli products that may be difficult to purchase in the Phoenix area.
"There is a huge need for Israeli products," says Budd. "Many members of the local Israeli community travel to L.A. or (Las) Vegas to buy the products they want. We want to support the Israeli economy, and many people think the products are superior."
The store will remain at its current location, 10211 N. Scottsdale Road, but will expand into a 3,100-square-foot space. Budd hopes to keep the store open through renovations planned for late summer. Scottsdale Kosher Market will open before the High Holidays, he says.
In addition, East Valley customers can purchase items from the store online and have them delivered to Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler. Call 480-315-8333. www.home.earthlink.net/~scottsdalekosher.
The store's expansion was planned from the beginning, explains Budd. The Passover Pantry was opened temporarily because Budd could not accomplish the full store's construction plans in time for the Passover holiday.
"We expected that we were going to close after Passover and begin construction," says Budd. "However, it seemed to make more sense to hold off and do it over the summertime when business is slower." The store has remained open as The Kosher Store since Passover ended.
Budd, a former aeronautical engineer and a member of Chabad of Scottsdale, began the project as a way to become more involved in the Jewish community.
"To me it is an opportunity to increase the level of Yiddishkeit in this community," he says. "Here, where there is such a need, it really makes a difference in people's lives."
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