Despite the long and successful run, employees had to say goodbye to their faithful customers when the market closed in mid-August.

A Jewish niche

The demise of the store was more than a business loss—local Jewish leaders are saying it represents a cultural loss, too.

The market was a place where young families, elderly couples and small children would hear a blend of Hebrew, Yiddish and English spoken while waiting for orders to be completed.

It was a place to get bubble gum wrapped in Hebrew comics. Jews transplanted from the East Coast could find items in the deli section with familiar New York labels that reminded them of home.

It was a store where tradition was especially strong during Passover, Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah, when adults filled their shopping baskets with foods they had eaten on holidays since they were children. Often these baskets would include certain cuts of meat, soup mixes, special chocolates, sweets and challahs that were later prepared into traditional meals. It was a market that, in its own way, kept the Jewish heritage alive.

"There is an aura around a kosher meat market, and that will be missed," says Kol Emeth Rabbi Sheldon Lewis, whose wife, Lorri, has ordered meat from the market for the past 10 years. "There will be a lot of disappointed people, especially around the holiday time, because it is a place where people gather."

The 600-member congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto had various members who ordered food from the kosher market, which offered convenience delivery service to its Palo Alto customers.

Lorri Lewis says, "Having a real, live kosher market in the neighborhood really helped us as a Jewish community, and I'm saddened by the fact it didn't work out."

For Campbell resident Chana Smith it means no longer being able to drive around the corner. Instead she will travel to Mollie Stone's—an upscale grocery chain in Palo Alto—to purchase her kosher food items.

"The market's closing is a great loss," she says. "It was so nice to have the ability to buy things in the neighborhood for Shabbat and Passover."

Others in the Jewish community were also shocked to learn about the store's closing.

"Where will people in the area go for their kosher wines on Rosh Hashanah?" asks concerned Los Gatos resident Drorit Schwartz. "I have a friend who always shopped there because she keeps kosher. What are she and others going to do?"

Economic impact

Menachem Klein, the market's newest shopkeeper, tried his best to sustain the business, but a plethora of circumstances seemed to work against him.

For starters, the valley's economy began heading into a major slump just as the market's ownership was being transferred to Klein in January 2001, and kosher meats and poultry are expensive compared to supermarket items—whole chickens cost $1.99 per pound, compared to the 99 cents per pound at a major grocery chain, and lean ground beef is $4.70 a pound, compared to $1.99 a pound at the local market.

His regular customers began buying less. Orders that averaged $150 per month dropped to $30, Klein says. Instead of eating meat three times a week, customers seemed to be substituting pasta and other non-meat items for their main courses.

"I don't think people could afford it," he says. "I know many people during the past year who lost their jobs and moved away. These people alone reduced the store's monthly income by $2,000 to $3,000."

The catering portion of his business was also impacted by the downturn in the economy. He had provided kosher meals to the San Jose Convention Center, Santa Clara Marriott Hotel and several other local hotels. It was 30 to 40 percent of his business and most of it dried up, he says.

Ironically, the growth in the local Jewish population also seemed to work against him as markets like Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods began carrying kosher turkeys and chickens to meet customer demand.

Having these items so close to home has been a " real boon for many people," Lorri Lewis says. Especially when a person can go out on a moment's notice and the item costs less.

Klein acknowledged the advantage of proximity and convenience and said he knew his customers were shopping elsewhere.

"But I wish the community gave me greater support," he says.

Not having the clientele was something Rabbi Daniel Pressman, of congregation Beth David in Saratoga, says was an unfortunate situation.

"I feel bad that these people worked hard and were not able to make a go of it," he says. "There were people in my congregation lamenting the loss. Especially those who have been in the community for a long time."

Yet, Pressman noted, with the growth in the South Bay Jewish population, the area should have been able to sustain a kosher market.

Rabbi Lewis adds, "I feel business should be flourishing. With the Jewish community developing so beautifully, we should be able to open new markets, with one in San Jose and one in Palo Alto."

Perhaps the biggest reason for the market's downfall was Klein's big heart, several members of the community say.

Menachem Klein

He was a teacher, not a butcher, who moved his wife and children from New York to San Jose to teach Judaic studies.

He was teaching at Eitz Chaim Academy—renting space from Shir Hadash in Los Gatos—when he began working for the store's prior owner, Daniel Keleman.

Keleman had owned the store for about 10 years, but he wanted to sell the business and move to Maryland to meet his children's educational needs. Klein was a help to Keleman, who was splitting his time between two coasts.

"People came to me and wanted to know if I would buy the store," Klein says. "I wanted to help the community keep the store."

But with limited experience running a kosher market, he didn't realize what the business would entail.

"I never intended it to be a full-time job," Klein says. "I was teaching and thought I could continue doing both."

But it quickly became apparent that the business was going to take up most of his time, and trying to do two jobs at only 50 percent forced Klein to choose. In June 2001 he began focusing solely on the business.

He remodeled the store and had a grand reopening last December to coincide with Hanukah. He brought in some newer meat items, including buffalo, and he continued to offer a delivery service. But the patronage wasn't there.

It also became a vicious cycle. As his customer base dropped off, he had to reduce inventory, and customers would come in and not find what they wanted and become unhappy, he says.

Yet he continued to offer credit to customers, and if a customer bought some groceries and was short the funds he told them to pay the next time they came in.

"It was a very Jewish market in the sense that the trust was always there," says employee Stephanie Lupo.

Klein also says there seemed to be an underlying bitterness with some customers about prior owners—the store has had at least four owners since its inception—and he offered several customers free samples to demonstrate his goodwill. But it wasn't enough to keep them coming back.

"It was sad. I wasn't looking to make a profit," he says. "I just wanted to provide a service for the community."

The reality of the situation hit hard after Passover—traditionally the busiest time for kosher markets. Sales were weak.

"I think the regulars in my store saw it coming. It was the ones who hadn't been in for two to three months that were shocked when they found out the store was closing," he says.

Lorri heard the news when Klein made a delivery a few weeks ago. Then he called and told her it looked like the store closing was definite.

"He had a good heart and was nice and caring, but you need more," she says. "I feel sad the community couldn't create a situation where he could make a living providing a service for us."

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Here No More: A sign outside the Willow Glen Kosher Market helped customers easily identify the business that operated on Lincoln Avenue for more than three decades.

Although Klein has closed the familiar glass doors to the store, he is determined to continue providing a kosher market service to the community and is taking the business online.

He has worked out an arrangement with Am Echad, the orthodox synagogue in Willow Glen, 1537 Meridian Ave., to warehouse the orders and also use the facility's kitchen to continue the catering portion of the business. Rabbi R.E. Lapin, the rabbi at Am Echad and who supervised the Willow Glen Kosher Market, is supportive of the online service, Klein says.

Customers will be able to order online and have their orders delivered, or they can pick up their orders at the synagogue.

"I am going to try something different and try to make a go of it online," he says.

He plans to continue delivering to customers in the surrounding areas—San Jose, Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos and Palo Alto—and all deliveries will be free, with no minimum amount required, Klein says. He hopes that will set the business apart from other kosher markets that charge a fee and require a $50 minimum order.

"Before I closed the store I asked people who were interested in the service to put their names on a mailing list. The first day 50 to 60 people signed up. People were very positive," he says.

Klein hopes going online will be the cost-cutting solution that will lead to his success. Yet with the store closing, there is no longer a full-service kosher meat market anywhere on the Peninsula or in the South Bay. The closest kosher butchers are in Oakland and San Francisco.

Looking optimistically forward, Rabbi Pressman says, "I hope the community can pull together across denominational lines. There are many people who care about kosher in this community, and maybe we can do something."

Going online and maintaining a steady client base might be difficult for Klein, with local markets continuing to add kosher foods to their inventories. But he is trying to keep part of the local kosher market alive.

"I'm just so sorry the market closed," Smith says. "It will certainly be missed. I don't know what else to say."

If you are interested in ordering kosher foods online, email info@willowglenkosher.com and an email will be sent with an attached order form. Orders can be emailed, or faxed to 408.297.0122. Phone orders are not available.