I LISTENING POST
WHY YOUR
PARTY PLANS
SHOULD
INCLUDE US.
I BEST OF EVERYTHING I
One Idea Did Not Take,
But His Delicatessen Did
Whatever occasion
you're planning,
we'll customize all our
banquet services
to meet your
needs and budget.
Ask us for more
information.
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
BUSINESS MEETINGS
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SPORTS BANQUETS
REHEARSAL DINNERS
HOLIDAY BANQUETS
SPECLSJ. OCCASIONS.
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PRIME RIB • CHOICE STEAKS
26855 Greenfield Road
Southfield
557-0570
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FRENCH CUISINE & BANQUET HALLS
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Authentic
French Dining
Traditional
and
Contemporary
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543 N. Main Street, River Square
Rochester
650-1390
Alfa's
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FAMILY DINING
Homemade From Natural Ingredients
Dania and Ed Farah Invite You To Enjoy
American and Lebanese Cuisine
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2 FOR 1 SPECIALS
10°A DISCOUNT TO p.m. SENIOR CITIZENS
to CLOSING
FROM 3
(Not Good On 2 For 1 or Early Bird)
I CARRY-OUT & CATERING AVAILABLE
, 27167 Greenfield, Just N. of 11 Mile
60
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1992
I
559.8222
ne of the best ideas in
the delicatessen in-
dustry never
happened.
It was about 24 years ago
that one of the organizing
brains behind a hoped-for
delicatessen association, Al
Winkler, now celebrating the
17th anniversary at his
popular Pickle Barrel Deli on
12 Mile and Evergreen in
back of the Evergreen Plaza,
banded together a group for
purposes that could only have
meant good things if it had
become a happening.
Al looks back on what
might have been had some of
the other owners forgotten
their selfishness . . . and got-
ten together instead of not
wanting others to know how
much business was being
done or the cost of products
being paid among what they
considered secrets.
Quite silly when you really
look at it . . . What a great
thing it would have been and
can still be . . . More buying
power, savings on health,
liability and general in-
surance, supplies, etc. . . . Im-
agine the impact of
cooperative advertising, for
example, with a price so low
on specials everybody would
do business . . . and make a
profit.
Al still has ambitions of
some day being part of a
delicatessen association . .
but can only reflect on what
might have been with a
unison of great strength.
Born in Hadera, Israel, bet-
ween Haifa and Tel Aviv, Al
came here in 1958 when only
10 years old . . . But Lou
Loewy, owner of a delica-
tessen on Linwood between
Hazelwood and Gladstone,
never asked his age . . . Al
looked older and Lou only
wanted to know if he could
cook . . . through an inter-
preter working the cash
register for Lou, Al was able
to fib a little because he
wanted the job . . . Lou made
him his breakfast cook .. .
The only thing Al says he
knew how to make was two
eggs fried . . . that's what he
used to see his mother
prepare at home . . . Al had
never seen a piece of meat
before so whenever the
waitresses brought their
order he made verything "two
fried up" until changing by
watching others and learning
quickly.
In six months, Al learned to
speak English and by wat-
chful cognizance was able to
make just about everything
. . . Within four months, Al
had become a sandwich man,
which was easy because it
was all by number and the
photographic mind he still
has today came in handy.
Like a rookie in baseball or
football, Al was the "new kid"
when he went to Modern Deli
on Fenkell as a counterman
mornings and lunches . . . All
the countergents were sup-
posed to cut their own rye
bread but the older hands
gave Al the job of cutting
every loaf . . . 80 loaves had to
be cut by the time Modern's
lunch rush began at 10:30
a.m. . . . Before he got wise, Al
used to come home with very
cramped fingers.
In the meantime, he was
gaining a wealth of ex-
A deli association
would have
benefits for
owners and diners.
perience and after a couple of
years went to Fredson's on
Wyoming just south of Curtis
for another three or four years
. . . While at Fredson's, Al
also worked at Darbys when
Bernie Kerner and Sam
Boeskey would need him.
This enterprising, hard-
working young man was
minding his own business
and gathering a world of
knowledge that was to vault
him among the elite in the
delicatessen game.
He finally saved enough
money to fulfill a long-held
hope . . . the opening of his
own place . . . It was on Seven
Mile Road, a block east of
Schaefer, called Pumper-
nickel Palace where Al prov-
ed that two good delica-
tessens near each other could
both do business . . . Not far
away, also on Seven Mile and
a block west of Schaefer, was
Sol's owned by Sol Shpargel
.•There was enough traffic
in those days to keep both
busy.
After almost three years, Al
sold his for a good price and
a year later was working for
Ron Forman and Earle
Mostyn at their new Nosherie
in Oak Park's Lincoln Shop-
ping Center where Ron has
been sole owner of the Bread
Basket Deli.
Then came 1975 and the
start of Al's Pickle Barrel
that became one of the most
popular delicatessens around.
When it first opened, Al's
spot seated 130 . . . Today
there is seating for 176 at
tables and booths . . . and a
source of much pride is the
high scores Pickle Barrel
receives from the Oakland
County Health Department.
He has always been a big
advocate of healthy eating .. .
and even more so today with
Health Smart items on the
menu, not flyers . . . The
menu, by the way, is one of
Al's ways of saying thanks for
his success . . . Dinner prices
are now as they were five
years ago.
Even the drinking water
and water to cook with at
Pickle Barrel are different .. .
The taps are filled with a car-
bon filtration system that
eliminates whatever im-
purities may exist.
Until two years ago, Dave
Dubbs, former owner of
Dubbs Country Kitchen on 10
Mile west of Greenfield where
Sara's Deli is now situated,
worked for Al since Dave sold
his place . . . Dave was a
Pickle Barrel fixture until
unable to do it anymore .. .
Now 84, Dave still comes to
see Al, leaning on his cane or
crutches, depending on how
he feels, and asks if there is
anything he can do to help.
Almost everything at Pickle
Barrel Deli is homemade .. .
Two women in the kitchen
have been with Al since he
opened Pickle Barrel . . .
cooks Zellee Howard and
Josie Perry . . . Chris Lan-
caster, former Darbys wonder-
ful waitress, retired last year
. . . She was another with Al
from the beginning . . . along
with present waitresses
Ethelyne Pedit, Lois Novel
and Diane Donnay.
Al is from the old school of
restaurant ownership . . . on
the premises at all times do-
ing whatever is necessary in
the culmination of a good
customer satisfaction
relationship.
Like a ritual, Passover
means more than just closing
. . . For 17 years, Al has taken
advantage of the closed doors
to reopen with a fresh look
after some type of remodeling.
Pickle Barrel is now a fami-
ly affair, too . . . Sister Lil
Schostak is his manager .. .
father Sol Winkler is cashier
and host . . . and Al's 23-year-
old son Eddie hosts and waits
on tables.
The ideas Al had for the
hopeful realization of a
delicatessen association are
still fresh in his mind . . . He
doesn't want to forget them