once ridden with crime.
"Southfield has a lot of
stature," she says. "-It is a pre-
mier business community, yet
we have to constantly reinforce
the neighborhood warmth.
"This makes it hard to get
our message across," Ms. Strip-
Sittsamer says. "If they can
make peace in the Middle East,
we can change the image of the
boulevard (Eight Mile Road).
The best thing we can do is not
ever give up."
Redeveloping the Southfield
downtown, between Eight Mile
and Mt. Vernon (9 1/2 Mile),

Nine Mile on the south, Lahser
on the west and Evergreen on
the east — will see this plan
come to fruition.
If approved by the City Coun-
cil, which so far has been re-
ceptive to all plans, a $400,000
plaza (to be paid for through a
special assessment on busi-
nesses) will be put to use along
Civic Center Drive. There will
be landscaping, benches, light-
ing and a special area to be used
for outdoor concerts, lectures
and other events. Also under
way is a blueprint for a new, ex-
panded public library in the

based real estate development
corporation operated by Jewish
businessmen Robert Sosnick
and David Hermelin, under-
stands well the impact that the
City Centre area can have upon
Southfield.
Mr. Horton, active with sev-
eral Jewish organizations, is
vice chair of the recently formed
City Centre Advisory Board,
which is comprised of members
of the business and government
communities.
"The business community in
the area is extremely sensitive
to the fact that there are no

ISRAEL DIGEST

Specially compiled by The Jerusalem Post

—$1 EQUALS 28750 NIS (shekels) - Close Price 10/1/93—

Counter-Attacking Big Mac

Jerusalem — Burger Ranch
went on the offensive last
week in the Israeli burger war
against its new rival, McDon-
ald's, with a campaign touting
its food as more affordable and
its menu as more complete.
"We are not going to enter
into competition or compar-
isons with anyone because

there is only one McDonald's,"
responded McDonald's spokes-
woman Irena Shalmor.
She reported that tens of
thousands of customers crowd-
ed the McDonald's outlet on
Oct. 21 in Ramat Gan's Can-
ion Ayalon on its first official
day of business.

The Colonel And The Food War

Life is a Beach is

fun for the whole
family, Nahan and
Strip-SIttsamer

Jerusalem — Before junk-food
addicts were able to recover
from overdosing on Big Macs
at McDonald's debut in Israel,
the Kentucky Fried Chicken
chain entered the fast-food
fray.
The Clal Trade Co., which
received the local license for

insist

the chicken franchise, opened
the first local branch under
their management at a site in
Rishon Lezion's Canion Zahav
on Oct. 24. Kentucky Fried
Chicken opened locally in the
`70s, but failed to catch on at
that time.

Retail Sales Up 6 Percent

Jerusalem — Retail trade
in Israel increased 6 percent
during the third quarter fol-
lowing a 2 percent increase in
the previous quarter, the Cen-
tral Bureau of Statistics re-
ported.
Sales grew between 8 per-
cent and 9 percent during the
first nine months of the year
compared to the same period
last year.
The bureau's survey in-
cludes marketing networks,
chain stores, retail stores and
supermarkets selling food, tex-

tiles, clothing, shoes, durable
goods and other goods, except
for cars.
According to the bureau, re-
tail store sales represent 25
percent of all private con-
sumption expenditures and 30
percent of all food expendi-
tures.
In addition, changes in the
level of sales also reflect
changes in the activities of the
marketing chains, such as
store expansions, the opening
of new branches and sales pro-
motions.

Elite Sells Subsidiary

Jerusalem — Elite is con-
ducting negotiations to sell its
control in Union, a German
coffee producer, to a large Ital-
ian concern, apparently in the
coffee sector.
The deal, estimated at
about $40-47 million for
Union, is more than Elite paid
in the deal to acquire it —
about $38 million.

The deal to sell control in
Union will not include the
French Sauf factory, which
Elite holds.
Union, which owns some 20
factories in Europe and has
sales of more than $100 mil-
lion, was registering losses
when it was purchased by
Elite last year.

Record Farm Exports

and Greenfield and Southfield
roads, is not the only economic
plan on the minds of city offi-
cials or Jewish leaders, who
want to maintain a Jewish
presence in the city central to
their community.
For the past few years, busi-
ness executives have been
working with the city on a mas-
sive undertaking called City
Centre, a plan aimed at mixing
business and pleasure to create
a new image for mid-town.
They believe this will create a
rebirth for an area already
bustling with business.
And they are hopeful that by
next summer, visitors to this
area — bounded by 11 Mile and
Interstate 1-696 on the north,

City Centre corridor. The li-
brary, one of the area's most
comprehensive, now is housed
in the massive City Hall com-
plex on Evergreen Road.
Together with City Centre
and the theater area, officials
believe Southfield will become
a place to work, eat, socialize,
be seen.
"It is our responsibility to
make both the downtown and
mid-town areas in the city suc-
cessful," says Donald Gross,
Southfield's director of commu-
nity development. "If we don't
do anything, we will never
know what could have hap-
pened."
Jason Horton, a vice presi-
dent for REDICO, a Southfield-

pedestrian focal points or gath-
ering spots anywhere in the
area . that is surrounded by 5
llion
mi
mon
square feet of offices,"
Mr. Horton says. "The project
we envision will begin in a sig-
nificant way to address that im-
balance. The proposed plaza
will allow for a visually dra-
matic open space that can be
used for street vendors. It will
become a gathering place."
To test the market, South-
field officials have given appro-
priate permits to a street
vendor, who for a few months,
has been selling hot dogs in the
core area at lunch time.
So far, so good, officials say.
And soon, they add, the vendor
will have company.

Jerusalem — Agrexco expects
to export close to $580 million
worth of vegetables, fruits and
flowers during this growing
season, which would be an in-
crease of $100 million over the
value of last year's exports.
During the coming year, the
company plans to ship 240,000
tons of vegetables, fruits and
citrus fruits, in addition to

some 950 million flowers and
plants.
Agrexco general manager
Dan Tzimhi said if the weath-
er isn't extreme and there are
no major pest infestations,
"The 1993-94 growing season
could be a record one for the
company."

EFI Profits Jump

Tel Aviv — Electronics for
Imaging (EFI) reported a 41.6
percent increase in its third
quarter net profit to $3.4 mil-
lion from $2.4 million during
the same period last year. Rev-

enues at the California-based
firm, established by Scitex
founder Efi Arazi, rose by 38
percent to $23 million (up from
$16.7 million).

