ENTERTAINMENT

Magic Avi
entertains the
kosher crowd
on Sunday
nights at Sara's.

Magic Avi wows Ari Schochet, Robert Arnold and Josh Zwelling.

Magic To Go

REBECCA COHEN

Special to The Jewish News

F

or the past four mon-
ths, Sara's Glatt
Kosher Deli in
Southfield has offered its
customers more than just a
corned beef sandwich on
Sunday evenings. To the
patrons' surprise, they can
see Magic Avi perform
magic tricks at their tables
while waiting for their food.
Avi Batt, who teaches at
Akiva Hebrew Day School,
learned his first magic trick
at the age of 12. While grow-
ing up in Israel, however,
Mr. Batt put his magical
hobby aside. Two years ago,
after moving to Detroit, Mr.
Batt purchased a magic kit
and performed at his
daughter's birthday party. A
self-taught magician, Avi
Batt became Magic Avi, and
has been performing his
magic act at parties and
Sara's Deli.
Magic Avi walks around
Sara's with his briefcase,

stopping at tables to ask,
"Would you like to see some
magic tricks?" If he receives
a positive response, Magic
Avi begins his act.
Mr. Batt, who performs his
craft in a dark suit and bow
tie, said he has no set
routine, "I do tricks that the
specific age group at the
table will appreciate." For
younger children, Magic Avi

"He makes people
smile and their
evening out more
enjoyable."

Morris Goodman

performs with sponge balls,
scarves, and cards. For an
older audience, Magic Avi
does mainly card and coin
tricks.
"Having Magic Avi in the
restaurant is great," said
Sara's owner Morris Good-
man. "He makes people

smile, and their evening out
more enjoyable." Mr. Good-
man said he has never
received a complaint about
Magic Avi, and customers
ask when he'll be perform-
ing next.
Most of the customers
welcome Magic Avi to their
table. Mrs. Susan Pollack of
Oak Park says, "Having
Magic Avi perform was a
good diversion for the kids
while waiting for our food."
The Rothstein family of
Baltimore also enjoyed
Magic Avi's act. Shlomo, 9,
thought that Magic Avi was
"a very nice man. He let me
and my brothers and sisters
help do his tricks."
Anne Luborsky of Windsor
says Magic Avi's perfor-
mance was "an unexpected
treat. It made our meal
better."
Magic Avi says he only has
two rules for his perfor-
mances: "First, never do the
same trick twice, and never
tell an audience how to do a
trick."

Sally Scharg's surprised look
proves the hand is quicker than
the eye.

Mr. Batt feels his biggest
reward is seeing people's
smiles. He said, "I have a
great time doing the tricks. I
sometimes think that I enjoy
it more than the audience
does."
Magic Avi is at Sara's Deli
every Sunday night between
6:30 and 7:30.

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