A kosher supermarket remodels its catering wing
to make room for Middle Eastern carryout cuisine.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

L

akewood Specialty Food
Center in Oak Park is re-
modeling again — this time
_ to bring Detroit's kosher
community a taste of Israel.
The windows are _covered up
during the remodeling, which in-
cludes putting mirrors on the
walls, cleaning, bringing in new
equipment, and making the place
look Israeli, says Lakewood own-
er Ari Lerner. Add to that new
floors, ceilings and lighting.
The entire kitchen is being re-
modeled; it will be fleishig, Mr.
Lerner said.
A year ago, Mr. Lerner re-
modeled the catering area of the
kosher market, but he did not up-
date the lighting. At that time,
he took down a wall, put in a new
ceiling, new floors, new equip-
ment. Now, he's doing it all again.
A Taste of Israel, the soon-to-
open catering and carryout spot,
will feature Middle Eastern-style,

Israeli cuisine such as shwarrna,
falafel, rotisserie chicken and Is-
raeli salads. Previously, Lake-
wood's catering arm offered
international foods, including
kosher Chinese, Mexican and
Eastern European items.
The Council of Orthodox Rab-
bis of Greater Detroit (Vaad
Harabonim) has granted certi-
fication, says Ofer Ohana, own-
er of the catering part. A Taste of
Israel will be glatt kosher.
An Israeli friend of Mr. Lern-
er's, Mr. Ohana has "been asking
for some time if [he] could move
in and run the counter," and he
finally said OK, Mr. Lerner not-
ed.
"A lot of Israeli customers
come in and buy a lot of packaged
Israeli goods," he explained. "A
lot of these people go out to eat,
and [they ask], 'Why isn't there
a kosher Mideastern restaurant?'
They are good customers, per-

Coming soon to Lakewood:
Kosher falafel, shwarma
and other Israeli foods.

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Bringing Israel
To Detroit

sistent, convinced me it would
benefit the area a lot. We need
something meat in the area, a
place for lunch and dinner."
"Having kosher food," said Mr.
Ohana, "is not enough if it doesn't
taste good." He expects A Taste
of Israel to be up and running in
about four weeks. Although it
won't open with seating, Mr.
Lerner says eventually there will
be room for about 20 people to eat
in.
Mr. Ohana, who is of Moroc-
can descent, will offer Moroccan
specialties, including kabobs
(tuna, chicken and kafte, a mix-
ture of ground meat and lamb)
and homemade couscous. The
menu will feature 15-20 Israeli
salads, including hummos, tehi-
na, eggplant and homemade
pickled vegetables.
Mr. Ohana plans to bring Is-
raeli-style pita bread from New
York or Miami.
Living in Detroit for the last
five years, Mr. Ohana brings pri-
or restaurant experience as a chef
and manager. He subleases half
of the store from Mr. Lerner and
will sell menu samplings at the
June 1 Israel Fest in West
Bloomfield. ❑

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