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more enjoyable
when shared
with family
and friends.
"waNe Ms`
e know that sharing
time with family and
friends is truly a gift. That's
why we encourage our residents to have as
many guests as they wish. We also offer many planned
activities and events for our residents' enjoyment. As
you know, there's no substitute for experience. Come
see how our experience has made us number one in
gracious (and friendly) retirement living.
W
oavoAnixme
Gracious living includes:
• Three chef-prepared meals served
daily restaurant-style
Private
dining room when family visits
•
• Full activity calendar
• Large screen TV lounge, library and billiard room
• Month-to-month rent, no hidden fees
• Resident managers
Inn at
MI1F
- Cass Lake
"
a
in gracious retirement living since 1971.
Gracious Retirement Living
900 N. Cass Lake Rd.
Waterford, Michigan
T
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L T
0 E
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R
We have moved to:
29115 Greenfield Road
Southfield, MI 48076
(248) 559-5424
(888) 202-4466
Fax: (248) 559-5426
gift Sof nature
Wedding & Party Specialists
V'A'—‘f14(tz Flowers For All Occasions
Manor Motorcar Company
39500 Grand River Avenue • Novi, Michigan 48375
(248) 426-9600 • Fax (248) 426-8686
"ligfkg4
7/23
1999
66 Detroit Jewish News
ear
FAST
The bustling store three years later
has five employees and has done an
estimated 15-20 percent more busi-
ness each year.
For Silverstein, when the store first
opened, the business was all new. I'd
never done it before. I was willing to
learn. I wanted to learn a new busi-
ness." Silverstein won't discuss where
the money came from to open the
business other than to say, "It was
good fortune. Call it whatever you
want. God was watching out for me.
Hopefully, He still is."
"A lot of people were happy" when
the store opened. "I would say it was
a good portion of the community,"
said Silverstein.
From the beginning, Silverstein
involved his customers in the future
direction of his business. When he first
opened, he had pencils and pads of
paper available at the check-out regis-
ters. "We didn't have a full line of food
in the store because there was no
knowledge of what the customers want-
ed. So we asked them for suggestions.
"We did that for the first four
months. I honestly believe we fulfilled
those requests up to 85 or 90 per-
cent," said Silverstein.
And today, although the pencils
and pads are gone, Silverstein still
seeks suggestions from his clientele.
"We try our best, but because of the
lack of space, it's hard to bring new
items in. But I do keep them in my
notes, so that when we do eventually
grow, we can add them to our stock,"
he said.
Silverstein has no immediate plans
to expand, but said, "It is in our minds
to try and grow. But like any success-
ful business, you have to learn to walk
before you can run." He added: "We
like the volume we're doing.
Obviously, in our business, it's never
enough. We always like to do more."
He typically arrives at the store
each day at 7 a.m. and opens at 7:30.
He usually doesn't leave until 8 p.m.
"I have even later days on Thursdays,
when I don't get home until 9:30 or
later. And during the holiday season,
I work 100 hours a week," said
Silverstein.
That grueling schedule. doesn't
always leave Silverstein as much time
as he'd like to spend with his growing
family. He and his wife, liana, have
three children: daughter Shoshana
Leah is almost 3 1/2, son Yosef
Baruch is 2; and son Chaim Dov is
six months. The family lives in
Southfield and belongs to Agudas
Yisroel-Mogen Abraham synagogue.
Silverstein is one of five children of
Tzvi and Vera Silverstein. Born and
raised here, he attended Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah, went to high school in
Denver, and took advanced courses in
New York City.
Silverstein doesn't see anyone in
the area as a competitor to One Stop
Kosher because we carry more than
7,000 different items ... and it is all
kosher." He believes he is competitive
with supermarket prices.
Silverstein said it is still a chal-
lenge to find new kosher products
for his customers. "I do have quite a
few distributors, but obviously, in
this environment, even if I find a
distributor who carries it, I always
want to get the best price on it ...
and sometimes it is just a question
of bringing it in the door ... I'm out
of space.
"I personally think we could at
least double our freezer section and
our refrigerated section immediately
when we grow. I have tremendous
requests for different frozen prod-
ucts." Although One Stop Kosher
occupies 2,650 square feet, actual
retail space is only 1,800 square feet,
mainly because of the walk-in coolers
at the back.
Unfortunately for Silverstein,
Passover only comes once a year.
And that is One Stop Kosher's
busiest time. We like to believe
we're famous for our Passover cata-
log," said Silverstein. "We distribute
more than 5,000 copies. It has color
covers, descriptions of all the prod-
ucts, prices and specials. And we do
it all ourselves. We spend $15,000
just to prepare for Passover.
"We send the catalog out to our
mailing list in the immediate area
and the suburbs," said Silverstein,
who uses mailers and fliers as his
primary methods of advertising.
Even Goldman, with whom
Silverstein is in daily contact by
phone, comes to Southfield for the
holiday to help out. This year, the
Passover store was in a separate
facility, three stores north of the
regular location.
One Stop Kosher offered customer
delivery when it started, but
Silverstein said that didn't work out.
He said the store may offer delivery
service again if it expands and there is
room to process orders.
Expanding "is not a matter of
knocking out a wall and putting on
another 100 feet," said Silverstein.
"It is a matter of putting the fin-
ishing touches on a dream. '1-1