found the Soup Bowl Deli deluged
with 200 patrons. "The kitchen isn't
big enough to handle it," Cohen says.
Restaurant capacity is less than 100;
Cohen didn't like people having to wait
in line. He wants to expand both the
kitchen and the eating area.
"We're in the discussion stage,"
Magidson says.
She says the Center is pleased with
the operation so far, noting that she
eats there almost every day.
"The response has been good from
the community. I'd love to see them
open breakfast, lunch and dinner, six
days a week."
Although the restaurant is fl eish. ig
(meat), parve items such as bagels,
muffins and hot cereal are offered for
the breakfast crowd.
Prices range from 51.50 for an B-
ounce cup of hot soup to 53.75-56 for
sandwiches and 55.50 for a grilled
chicken salad. Hot dogs go
for 81.60: half sandwiches
are available for smaller
appetites.
"The main concern is to
keep customers satisfied,"
Longtime snack bar operator Resi Moritz will be
says Cohen, adding that he
remembered when the Jewish Community Center in
hopes to increase the choic-
Oak Park dedicates its newly renovated kitchen in
es on his menu.
her memory.
PrevioUs to the Soup
The dedication will take place at 3:45 p.m.
Bowl Deli, there was a dairy
Sunday, April 22, at the Oak Park JCC. The kitchen
luncheonette, run for 40
is located in the JPM Building's Soup Bowl Deli.
years by JCC staffer Resi
Mrs. Moritz was known for her soups and sand-
Moritz and in recent years
wiches, which she made for JCC staff and members
by Jerry Starler. According
for more than 40 years at various JCC locations. She
to JCC Administrative
was honored by the JCC Board of Directors on her
Director Leslee Magidson,
75th birthday. She died Jan. 7, 1997.
the products were kosher,
Born and educated in Berlin, Mrs. Moritz lived
but there was no supervi-
for nine years in Shanghai before coming to the U.S.
sion. Due to the growing
in 1948. In her later years, she was a resident of the
density of the surrounding
Prentis Jewish Apartments in Oak Park.
Orthodox neighborhood,
Prior to the dedication ceremonies, there will be a
Magidson says, there was a
performance of Ezekiel Solomon-English Fur Trader
need for a kosher-supervised
by the Madame Cadillac Dance Theatre. The dance
eating facility run by a pro-
drama depicts the life of Ezikiel Solomon, one of
fessional kosher caterer.
Michigan's earliest Jewish settlers.
Cohen, who runs Meyer
A reception will follow the dedication. For reser-
S. Cohen Catering out of
vations, call Ronda Robbins, (248) 967-4030.
Young Israel of Southfield,
was approached by the JCC
to run the restaurant. "It's not
a money-maker," he says. "It's
really there as a service to the
community."
At this point, the restaurant
is open 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
weekdays. Cohen is consider-
ing expanded hours. "People
from the community are beg-
ging for me to open on
Sundays," Cohen says.
He tried Sunday hours in
December, but had to stop
because of too much success.
With a daily average customer
base of about 50, Sundays
JCC Dedication
Recalls- Resi Moritz
Soup Bowl proprietor Meyer Cohen
SUSAN TAWIL
Special to the Jewish News
Soup Bowl
Deli serves
up kosher
food at
Oak Park
JCC.
C
onvenience is the ticket to
success for Meyer Cohen's
Soup Bowl Deli at the Jewish
Community Center in Oak
Park.
Moms pop in for lunch when they
pick up their kids from day care.
Center members come in after a swim
or a workout. JCC staffers stop by for a
bite. Adults visit parents in the adja-
cent Prentis and Teitel Jewish apart-
ments and take them "out" to lunch.
The restaurant opened in the JCC's
Jimmy Prentis Morris Building in
September, after a yearlong gutting and
remodelinc, that cost 580,000. Lots of
potted and hanging silk plants brighten
the setting. Service is dinette-style
casual; orders are placed at the counter
and served on paper plates atop cafete-
ria trays. Plastic cutlery and condi-
ments are self-serve from a table at the
front.
The strictly glatt-kosher deli is
under the supervision of the Council of
Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit,
with Kollel fellow Rabbi Leibie
Landsman serving as mashgiach
(kashrur supervisor).
Resi Moritz, right, with Festival
Dancers' artistic director Harriet
Berg and JCC children at the
Jimmy Prentis Morris Building
4/13
2001
37