Question? Handleman Hall Ready SWIM STAYING P•1 1311•11ESS 1FO GIME EARS JCC's expanded, renovated social hall offers latest technology for parties and events. SHELLI DORFMAN Staff Writer F a. his ability to hire people smarter than he b. having the laser surgery to correct his color blindness c. his dashing good looks d. his great sales e. all of the above If You Guessed (e.) You're Absolutely Correct. Join Us for a Special Two Week Anniversary Sale. September 27th thru October 9th and Take an "1.0(Y Off 0 RAFFI MOCKS Regularly $7 , 4 NOW XXL 2 for $90 21'80 *Our Already Low Prices RAFFI POLOS* '-• W 21'9 0 NO . Regularly $74 XXI, 2 for $100 DRESS SHIRTS & TIES* Regularly $60 $1 pea 'pea Big • Tall Sizes. Available Courtyard Center 32500 Northwestern Hwy. Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-851-6770 The Shirt Box. Shirts And A Whole Lot More. Always 20%-35% Off Retail HOURS: Mon.-Sat 9:30-6 Thurs. till 7 *Not valid with other discounts, promotions, sales, special orders and/or previous purchases. to o 2K) ENTERTAINMENT Jode• G music • dance • fun 10/8 1999 18 Detroit Jewish News (248) 356-6000 or a Jewish Community Center building that seeming- ly had everything, only now does the D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building have a fully equipped kosher social hall. "It's drop-dead gorgeous," said Matt Prentice, food service manager. After years of lacking usable banquet space, the JCC in West Bloomfield has unveiled the David and Marion Handleman Hall and Auditorium. The room, which JCC executive director David Sorkin called "the most elaborate" of the facility's rental areas, was created through a $1.2 million expansion and renovation of the former Shiffman Hall. Although not expected to be a fully operational banquet facility until the spring of 2000, the hall is cur- rently available for non-food-related business, Sorkin said. The first official use of the hall, amid saws and ladders, was a September JCC board meeting. "We wanted to be the first to use the room," Sorkin said. Prentice, president of Unique Restaurant Corporation in Bingham Farms, is the kosher caterer hired by the JCC. He will oversee the 20,000- square-foot food service area, which includes a dairy kitchen. A kosher meat caterer, in partnership with Prentice, will be hired soon and avail- able upon request. This caterer may be off-site or a new meat kitchen might be constructed, Sorkin said. Expect only the newest in banquet hall equipment in Handleman Hall, which can accommodate 350 guests ban- quet-style and 650 for meetings. The room has videoconference capabilities, sound amplification equipment for music or speakers, surround-sound and video projector units. An infrared system was installed to amplify sound for hearing- impaired guests. Twenty-seven speakers cover the total area of the ceiling, allow- ing for even sound throughout the room. No grand opening gala has been set, as the Handleman family is in mourn- ing for the late Marion Handleman. She endowed the room with her husband, David. A plaque and an annual lecture will memorialize the donors of Shiffman Hall, which was used heavily for general JCC purposes, but not marketed as a banquet facility during the last three to five years because of its worn appear- ance. Because of Jewish holidays and late- ending Shabbats, Handleman Hall may be booked only for 50 viable weekend days, Prentice said. With six confirmed social events in the hall — the first is next March — many tentative dates already have been booked. Unique Restaurant Corporation receives daily inquiries, said Elaine Denton, a URC spokeswoman. According to Denton, Handleman Hall's minimum cost for food and bev- erage service is $12,500 on Sundays, $15,000 on Saturdays and $5,000 on weekdays. Handleman Hall is "drop-dead gorgeous. — Matt Prentice The Rosenberg Complex Activity Room, which accommodates 200, has a minimum usage fee of $5,000 on Sundays and $3,500 on weekend days and during the week. Prentice said this is comparable to the cost of similar-sized halls in other facilities. Many smaller rooms are available in the Kahn Building, as well as three mul- tipurpose rooms for groups of 50 to 150. The Aaron DeRoy Theatre can accommodate just under 200 guests for theater parties. With URC the center's sole caterer, the same menu is available at the same cost for food and beverage service in each room. Rooms not booked six months prior to a date will be offered at a discounted price, Prentice said. The JCC's kosher dairy restaurant, overseen by Prentice, still is expected to open early next year. He said his kosher baking company has been inspected. Approval by the Vaad Harabonim/Council of Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit is expected in time for him to begin parve kosher baking, with an on-site super- visor, on Oct. 1 1 . Fl