Sheila Levine and Harriet Goldberg of Stage and Co. show off the foods which have made them famous in Detroit.

and Huntington Woods area.
Gerald Brody, a friend of
Mark Shindler's grand-
father, Julius Shindler,
started Brody's after leaving
Europe in 1919 to evade the
Polish army. Gerald and
Julius arrived in Cuba, where
they stayed six months, then
moved to Windsor for another
six months before settling in
Detroit.
Julius Shindler owned Par-
ker Brothers Shoes and Mens-
wear. Gerald Brody open-
ed Brody's on Dexter.
Brody's moved frOm its
Detroit location to Oak Park
in the late 1950s.
In 1968, Mr. Shindler's
shop was burned down dur-
ing the riots. One year later,
at Rosh Hashanah services,
Mr. Brody offered to sell his

"The day of the
small retailer is
drawing to a
close."

Gary Alpert

business to his long-time ac-
quaintance. Lester, Mr.
Shindler's son, bought the
store which remained in Oak
Park for 10 years.
Brody's was an established
business, so the Shindlers
kept the name.
After graduating from col-
lege, Mark Shindler, Julius'
grandson, purchased a loca-
tion in West Bloomfield.
Lester sold the Oak Park
store and came to work for his
son.
"I had been watching a
trend from 1974 to 1978.
More and more of our
customers were moving to
West Bloomfield," Lester
Shindler said. "Plus, a
clientele was moving into
Oak Park which either could
not afford our merchandise
or could do their own altera-
tions."
"Service is key. We will
break our necks to do the
extra," Mark Shindler said.

"That was Mr. Brody's
motto and it is ours."
The concept of a family
business is an ideal all these
business owners are striving
to preserve. Following their
customers has helped, some
believe.
Although retail is a
demanding business, Mark
Shindler hopes Brody's will
remain in his family —
perhaps with a cousin
rather than with his chil-
dren. Steve Goldberg of The
Stage and Co. can't even
recall a time when a Gold-
berg wasn't associated with
The Stage.,
Steve Goldberg remembers
when he was 7 years old,
standing on a wooden soft
drink case washing dishes at
The Stage in Oak Park.
The Los Angeles attorney
is running the deli-
restaurant in West Bloom-
field while his parents, the
owners of Stage and Co.,
Jack and Harriet Goldberg
are on "sabbatical." Steve's
sister, Sheila, manages the
restaurant.
- Twenty-eight years ago,
Jack Goldberg bought an
Oak Park cafe after a brief
stint as an executive for a
paint manufacturer. He was
42.
"I think his true love was
always the restaurant busi-
ness," Mr. Goldberg said of
his father. "He has always
been in and out of the busi-
ness. He was even a cook in
the army in World War II."
During Passover of 1963,
Jack Goldberg gutted the
cafe and reopened a "top-
drawer deli with a theater
atmosphere" called The
Stage and Co. Costume
boards and Broadway
posters adorned the walls
and actors from the Nor-
thland Playhouse in
Southfield filled tables along
with the regulars who re-
quested the same seats each
day.
In the early 1980s, the
Goldbergs watched those

Like many Sylvia's employees, Evelyn Martin is a former customer of the boutique.

Brian Cohen and Alan Bishop of Mr. Alan's keep local men's feet fashionable.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

73