Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
L'Chaim!: Menachem Klein, 28, became the newest owner of the Willow Glen Kosher Market this past January. The market was recently remodeled and specializes in all things kosher, including wine and meat.
WG Kosher Market gets new look for Hanukkah
By Jim Aquino
Willow Glen Kosher Market, a neighborhood staple for 30 years, now looks as fresh as the kosher foods it sells, thanks to extensive remodeling that has attracted customers who never even noticed the store before, according to owner Menachem Klein.
"We put in brighter lights, nicer fans, newer paint, new shelves and more tables and chairs to accommodate more people," says Klein, who adds that he redesigned the layout of the store so that customers, especially those who are handicapped, would have an easier time going from shelf to shelf. "It was pretty tough [previously] to get a wheelchair around the store."
The Lincoln Avenue market, which carries bread, baked goods, meats and wines that meet Jewish dietary laws, reopened Dec. 9--the first day of Hanukkah--with a celebration that included DJ music and prize giveaways. Klein had closed the market for about a week to complete the remodeling, which is part of his plan to keep his business growing.
"I felt, when I took it over, that there was a lot more to this business than just what was there," says Klein, who bought the market from his friend, previous owner Daniel Keleman, last year and wanted to expand the business from a grocery/butcher shop/catering service to an authentic New York-style kosher deli.
"At most other places around here, if they're serving New York deli, they're not from New York. You've got to be a New Yorker to serve New York deli. No cheap imitations," says Klein, a Brooklyn native who moved to the South Bay two and a half years ago for a teaching job at Eitz Chaim Academy, a Jewish day school in Los Gatos.
The store interior isn't all that Klein has altered. He has also restructured the preparation of kosher meats. Customers no longer have to wait until the butcher finishes preparing their orders to pick them up.
"Now we cut everything in the morning and package it, and you just take it," Klein says. "Now, because of that, the service has gone a little bit faster, and people are generally much happier."
Klein admits that kosher meats are more expensive than non-kosher meats, due to the process of making meat kosher. Orthodox Jewish laws require very strict conditions under which animals are slaughtered, and those conditions affect the quality and flavoring of the meat.
"It is not a cheap process, but the quality is much better," says Klein, who adds that customers know they're paying more but keep coming back for the quality of the product.
Klein wants more Gentiles and other non-Jews to come by the market and sample kosher cooking. He has even come up with a tactic to de-emphasize the term "kosher."
"The word 'kosher' scares people away. That's why I put on my sign, 'Authentic New York Deli,'" he says.
Younger customers often come to Klein for tips on how to keep their kitchens kosher. Klein is always ready to give advice on separating meat dishes from dairy dishes, for instance. But if someone asks him a question about the dietary laws, he refers that person to a local rabbi.
"That's a question of Jewish law, and that's something that's better answered by rabbis," he says.
Meanwhile, Klein is receiving positive feedback about the market's new look from customers who have been around the block far longer than he has.
"My older customers were a little bit dazzled, after seeing the place look the same for 30 years," he says. "You can have a house that can seem small, but if you actually furnish it right, it can be quite big."
Willow Glen Kosher Market, 1185 Lincoln Ave. Open Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m., and Friday and Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Closed Saturday and Monday. For more information, call 408.297.6604.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
