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January 16, 2004/Tevet 22 5764, Vol. 56, No.17
Kosher marketplace grows
RAEANNE MARSH
Special to Jewish News
Kosher is what's happenin', baby. Just take a quick look around, and it becomes obvious: in Phoenix, the kosher scene is expanding.
"Even the supermarkets are going into it. It used to be they only brought (kosher foods) out for Passover," observes Zalman Segal, owner of Segal's Kosher Foods. Offering butcher, bakery and restaurant along with packaged grocery and frozen items at his Phoenix location on Seventh Street near Camelback Road, he has expanded and now has space in Jewish Quarter, a store at Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale. Driving the change, Segal points out, is the influx of Jewish people to the Valley.
People filling the demand are often newcomers themselves. Sam Goldman, manager of family-owned Goldman's Best Cooking at Hayden Road and Indian Bend in Scottsdale, says his family came here from Chicago just three years ago. Most of the recipes come from his parents, who have more than four decades between them in the restaurant business. Specialties include a Polish-style stuffed cabbage and a number of soups. Strict kosher it's not, although the deli's meats and ingredients are kosher.
An even more recent addition to the scene is Yasha from Russia, in Phoenix near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard. "We'd heard there weren't many good kosher stores in the area," says Nerik Gadaev, a partner in the enterprise. They are helping fill that gap, drawing a lot of customers from right in the neighborhood who tell them they're happy to have a kosher deli nearby. They serve a sit-down lunch and, although not strictly kosher, offer "everything from candies to kielbasa," and make their own knishes, piroshki, and other specialty items.
Danziger Kosher Catering, however, is strictly kosher and is supervised by the Greater Phoenix Vaad Hakashruth, the Valley's kosher supervision agency. The company's cafe opened last year at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale. Not limited to the kosher menu of past generations, The Cafe offers a variety of cuisines. "People are interested in New American fare like gourmet pizza, sushi, and tomato and mozzarella salad," observes co-owner Raymond Hirsh. "The typical customer wants the type of food you can get at a hip place, but they want it kosher." And it's all available to go, including a Shabbat dinner.
The convenience of prepared foods is a new element in the Valley's kosher scene. And there's also more fresh product available, which is another improvement in terms of convenience. More and more stores all over the Valley are carrying kosher meat (as well as that standard of convenience, the frozen meal).
"Finding kosher product is very easy; it's really out there," says Anita Rabenowitz, a local resident who recently returned to a strict observance of kashrut. Relating that she gets pleasure from keeping kosher and being mindful of her Judaism in the kitchen, she admits, "One reason I didn't keep kosher before was I thought it would be difficult to find kosher products." And she beefed up her recipe repertoire by taking a class in kosher cooking from caterer Susan Levy of Glendale-based Simply Scrum-ptious. In addition to finding products available in almost any market, Rabenowitz also frequents The Kosher Store at Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. "They're very accommodating and will stock an item for me if I ask about it."
The impression that demand for kosher product is growing is borne out by sales, according to a spokesperson for Albertsons who reports that last year's sales showed a double-digit increase. And they recently added a dedicated category manager for kosher foods - Yakov Yarmove, a rabbi who turned to a career in marketing. While every Albertsons store has at least a four-foot section of kosher foods, 10 stores in the Phoenix area have an expanded presentation of up to 48 feet of dry grocery, dairy, and some frozen selection. Two stores (at Tatum Boulevard and Greenway Road, and 16th Street and Camelback Road) have a kosher bakery supervised by the Orthodox Union and carry Aaron's fresh kosher meat and poultry (pre-packaged).
Trader Joe's carries a varied selection of kosher items, including wine. The items are located in the appropriate department rather than stocked in a separate section, and a pamphlet is available at the demo counter listing what they carry and where to find it.
Whole Foods is another grocery chain carrying kosher foods in every store, although the selection may vary with the different community each serves. The Paradise Valley store, for instance, orders more kosher birds, including Wise Chicken fresh chicken parts, according to Trista Taylor, marketing and communications specialist at Whole Foods in Tempe. Items are mixed throughout the store, but are tagged in each department. "There's more product (in our stores) than people would suspect," observes Taylor in a statement that seems to apply equally well to the kosher scene in general.
For even more places to buy and eat kosher food, try King Solomon's Pizza, Cactus Kosher Foods, Cookies Amour and Yaffa Restaurant, all supervised by the Vaad.
Raeanne Marsh is a local free-lance writer.
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