EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

LETTERS

Letters are posted
and archived on JN Online:

w-ww.detroitjewishnews.com

Still A Success

I

hoped I would never have to make this call," La Difference owner Paul Kohn
said glumly on July 26. "But it has cost me an enormous amount of money
and there's no likelihood that I can carry it any further. I'm putting the 'We're
Closed' sign out tonight."
So ended Kohn's fragile, 2 1 /2-year experiment to operate a high-class kosher restau-
rant that would appeal to nonkosher and non-Jewish diners, too.
Sweat equity and community support aside, he simply didn't
have enough diners.
"I can't believe how much it hurts — how it has affected me on
an emotional and personal level," said Kohn, 53. "We gave 100
percent effort."
The cozy restaurant was like a newborn baby for the Kohns; his
wife, Leah, and two of their seven children, David and Avi, also
took turns tending to its needs.
Kohn's longtime dream of running a kosher restaurant became
ROBERT A.
reality in time for Chanukah 1998. La Difference opened near the
SKLAR
busy West Bloomfield intersection of 14 Mile and Orchard Lake
Editor
Road. On opening night, the New York native confided that, at
51, the restaurant was his pride and joy. Throughout its run, his
signature smile often lit up the dining room.
Kohn didn't need to make a living from the restaurant; his main business is
Quality Kosher Catering, based at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield. But
he thought he'd at least break even at La Difference after two years. Instead, he says,
he's "embarrassed to say how much money I plowed into it."

A Different Draw

Detroit Jewry has seen many kosher restaurants over the years; lack of sufficient rev-
enue to keep a kosher kitchen doomed many. Still, many casual and carryout kosher
restaurants are giving it their all today. In a creative approach, fellow caterers Jeffrey
Rosenberg and Alan Linker have hosted weeknight kosher dinners, open to all, in
the synagogues they serve.
Over the years, some kosher businesses have sparred with
the Vaad Harabonim (the Southfield-based Council of
Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit) over kosher certification
and costs. But Kohn had a good relationship with the Vaad;
3'/2 months ago, it helped him shift from dairy to meat in
hopes of enlarging the diner base.
La Difference hoped to appeal to residents and businesses in
the northwest suburbs as well as draw from the Orthodox
community in Oak Park and Southfield.
An adventurer at heart, Kohn took up skydiving at 21. But
he also is a heads-up businessman who knows the risks of run- Paul Kohn
ning a restaurant subject to kashrut standards. Still, he felt
Jews, whether they kept kosher or not, would support La
Difference in significant numbers, and gentiles would welcome it for the higher-cal-
iber dining experience.
Ultimately, he couldn't overcome the perceived hurdles of location (at the rear of
the Robin's Nest Shopping Plaza), hours (closed on Shabbat) and price (French
accents and dressy ambience prompted many to go there only on special occasions).
Kohn still has rent to pay, so will reopen his site for private parties, but he doesn't
know how long he can keep the lights on. Meanwhile, he'll work to build up the
dairy end of his catering business.
La Difference was supposed to be just a business venture. But it became a labor of
love — and nearly all-consuming.
Yet Kohn has no regrets.
As he put it, "There were so many nice people I came in contact with, so many
appreciative and supportive people. I will go on with the next phase of my life
knowing how nice a community we truly have."
In many ways, La Difference succeeded, despite its short run. It would be a fitting
tribute to Paul Kohn if another enterprising soul could recycle those successes into
an even more successful kosher restaurant somewhere in metro Detroit. ❑

Related coverage: page 16

From Strength
To Strength

Last week, a letter writer harshly criti-
cized Rabbi Hal Greenwald ("Be
Mindful Of Buddhist Practices," July
17, page 5) after attending a lecture of
his on Buddhism.
I attended the same lecture and heard
something quite different. This remind-
ed me of a quote by [motivational
speaker] Tony Robbins who said, "A per-
son hears what he wants to hear, even
though it is quite different than what
was said." What I heard is that there is
much similarity between Buddhism and
Judaism, except that Buddhists empha-
size meditation. With prayer and medi-
tation, we communicate with our inner
selves, our soul and with God.
I belong to two synagogues and often
leave unfulfilled in meditation or in con-
centration on a single prayer. Being in a
group with many minds focusing on a
single prayer has power. Just as thread,
when combined with other like threads,
can become the strongest rope, so it is
with thought. After all, isn't communi-
cating with ourselves the bottom line?
And doing it with others gives it power.

BECAUSE
EVERY
CHILD
IS PART
OF OUR
COMMUNITY

JARC
Merle and Shirley Harris
Children and
Family Division

Services for children with special
needs and their families.

Sidney Leitson
West Bloomfield

Israel Politics
Clearly Shown

✓ Outreach, support,
information, referral and
advocacy for families

You are to be commended for your lucid
and rational opinion piece that accurate-
ly reflects the current political climate in
Israel and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
firm, yet restrained, response to the
renewed Palestinian intifada ("So Far So
Good," July 20, page 29).
You correctly concluded that "Ariel
Sharon is doing a lot better than just
`okay'" and that "his unwillingness to be
pushed around by the Palestinians, the
European Union or Washington makes
him a steadying force."
Your apt analysis wisely suggests that
Israel and its prime minister deserve, and
have every reason to expect, an unmis-
takable manifestation of solidarity and
support from the American Jewish dias-
pora instead of the brickbats and unbri-
dled criticism to be found in the open-
forum sections of the Jewish News.
Political punditry is an important
facet of sound journalism; however,
when used irresponsibly, it is reduced to
raucous demagoguery.

✓ Educational and social
programs for families

Ezekiel Leikin
Southfield

LETTERS on page 6

✓ In-home respite care with a
trained JARC staff person

✓ Case management with a
person-centered focus

✓ Funding for aides so children
with special needs can
participate in recreational
activities with their non-
disabled peers

✓ Comprehensive supports to
help children with special
needs successfully attend
religious schools

Thanks to The Jewish Fund
and Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit for their
support of the Harris Division.

Call JARC at

248-538-6610

30301 Northwestern Hwy.
Suite 100
Farmington Hills, MI 48334

8/3
2001

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