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74

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1991

On The Move

Continued from preceding page

regulars move away to West
Bloomfield and Farmington
Hills.
"Our business was declin-
ing and our clientele was
changing," Steve Goldberg
said. "Good customers would
still drive out to Oak Park
but there was really no
reason for it."
Although the Goldbergs
were not familiar with the
West Bloomfield area, they
recognized the obvious de-
mand for a move and took
the plunge. Before Steve
headed west to begin his ca-
reer in law, he opened up the
Stage and Co. in West
Bloomfield in 1982 while his
father maintained the Oak
Park restaurant.
When the West Bloomfield
building was completed,
Jack Goldberg sold his
original restaurant to a dis-
tant relative, who has since
sold it out of the family.
Still unsure of their move,
the Goldbergs opened for
business without any
publicity. By lunchtime,
patrons were lined up out
the door.
"We hit the ground runn-
ing and we've never
stopped," Steve Goldberg said.
"We made a name in Oak
Park, which means some-
thing to the younger set out
here.
"Delis are like grandma's
chicken soup. Everyone's
grandma makes it diff-
erently, but everyone's
grandma sets the standard,"
he added.
Alan Bishop also learned
his trade from his father.
But rather than pinch-
hitting for him while he
vacationed, Mr. Bishop
opened his first business
across the hall from his
father.
Mr. Bishop grew up wat-
ching his father cater to the
shoe whims of Jewish wo-
men at The Bootery at 10
Mile and Greenfield in
Southfield.
When he finished school in
1973, Mr. Bishop opened Mr.
Alan's Men's Bootery and
vied for the sales of the
husbands of his father's
customers. To pay the rent,
Mr. Bishop operated his own
business while putting in
odd hours at his father's
store — often running back
and forth across the hallway
they shared.
Mr. Bishop and his partner
have expanded that original
store four times.
Kosins Clothes in
Southfield was Mr. Alan's
second home. Although Mr.
Bishop had been groomed by
his father in the business, he
soon discovered men don't
buy shoes the way women

do. So Harry Kosins taught
him about the men's fashion
industry.
"I took Harry's knowledge
and applied it to my 10 and
Greenfield store," Mr.
Bishop said. "That year, we
doubled the profits."
The Southfield Mr. Alan's
Shoes remains the top gross-
ing store.
Mr. Bishop opened his
third location in West
Bloomfield in the 1980s.
Like many business owners,
he was afraid that if he
didn't make the move nor-,
thwest, he would lose
customers. Like the two
previous locations, Mr.
Alan's Shoes in West Bloom-
field proved successful.
Six years ago, Mr. Kosins
opened a shop in Birm-
ingham and brought Mr.
Bishop along to occupy the
1,000 square feet upstairs.
The Birmingham store was
not profitable for Mr.
Kosins, so he turned over his
3,000 square feet to Mr.
Bishop's fourth location.
Mr. Alan's Shoes no longer
resides in Kosins Clothes,
but Mr. Bishop now owns
five locations including
Eastland and Dearborn.
Mr. Bishop's move to the
east side is unique among
original Oak Park and
Southfield business owners.
However, unlike West
Bloomfield, the east side
provided a market that was
not yet saturated.
"Even though we are a big
company now, I treat this
business as though it were
still the one store I owned in
Southfield," Mr. Bishop
said. "I'm not Mr. Alan, I'm
just Alan."

❑

Red Tape
Halts Atari

Tel Aviv (JTA) — Bu-
reaucratic red tape is being
blamed for Israel's loss of a
major American investment
project, and with it nearly
1,000 new jobs.
What has become known
here as the "Atari scandal"
centers around the Ministry
of Industry and Trade.
The ministry's Investment
Center only just approved
Atari's plans to establish a
computer assembly plant in
Israel, announced here three
months ago with much fan-
fare.
The green light came too
late. Jack Tramiel, chair-
man of Atari, had already
informed the ministry he
was taking his plant
elsewhere because of delays
in obtaining the necessary
licenses in Israel.
The Atari venture had