Family Tradition
Schubot Jewellers find Troy a place to prosper.
DON COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
M
ost family businesses don't hold through
the third generation," says Sydell Schubot.
"We're hoping for the fourth," her hus-
band, Douglas, quickly adds, displaying the sense of
timing and teamwork that have made Jules R.
Schubot Jewellers of Troy a leader in its field.
That their son Brian is carrying on the tradition
begun by Douglas' father, Jules, is just one source of
pride for the Schubots, who live in Franklin.
The well-kept brown office building on southwest
corner of Coolidge and Big Beaver, across from the
Somerset Collection, gives few clues to fine jewelry
collection awaiting within.
Schubot Jewellers has been at this location since
1975, when Douglas moved the family business from
the Metropolitan Building in Detroit.
In 1975, there wasn't much development in Troy
outside of the mall — which was much smaller than
today — and the Frankel office building. But
Douglas and Sydell, who celebrated their 50th
anniversary June 29, saw Troy had a future. The
nature of the business meant they had to be close to
an affluent market, and being near to both
Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills provided it. But
they also wanted to be accessible to the car-company
executives who long had been prime customers.
"I remember a story about my father visiting K.T.
Keller, chairman of the board of the Chrysler
Corporation [in the early 1950s]," recalls Douglas,
explaining that Keller wasn't pleased that Jules had
driven to see him in a car other than a Chrysler prod-
uct. "After that, my father always had GM, Chrysler
and Ford cars so he could visit anyone he wanted."
Years later, the car executives would come to Troy.
"We discovered that the car companies had people
living outside of the city," Douglas says. We wanted
to be in the best shopping area, but not in a mall. We
are a 'destination' store; people will make a special trip
to see us.
The move to Troy coincided with Sydell becoming
more involved in the business. With Jules' death in
1970, Douglas gave himself five years to relocate the
business. When some of Jules' longtime assistants left
a few years later, Sydell started full time, learning the
business and designing the new store.
"We've worked together a lot of years," says
Douglas. "It's been 24/7 for at least 25 years."
Douglas proudly tells how his father got the
idea of selling jewelry when he was an usher in
Detroit theaters and.would go backstage to lis-
ten to the performers. Jules became what
Douglas calls "a pocket salesman," who went
to a jeweler and made a deal to buy items for .
cost and split the profit. He did well enough
to venture out on his own in 1917, and open
his first store on Madison Avenue in Detroit.
After weathering the Great Depression, he
moved to the Metropolitan Building in 1940.
Jules was able to get the Schubot name in _
front of the public, explains Douglas, who
shows off the store's ad from Time magazine in - Brian,
December 1963, when Schubot was the first
jewelry store to advertise in the magazine.
Photographs around the store show Jules hobnob-
bing with celebrities Jolie and Zsa Zsa Gabor, Sammy
Davis Jr., Victor Borge and Allan King, among others.
Jewish Roots
From the Chagall mezuzah on the front doorpost to
the smattering of Judaic items, plaques and awards
from Jewish groups, and the picture of Brian's confir-
mation from Temple Beth El sitting prominently
behind the desk in the main sales office, the Schubots
are clearly proud of their family, business and reli-
gious heritage.
The Schubot's connection to Temple Beth El is
long and deep. Jules and his wife, Baraga, were mar-
ried there by Rabbi Leo Franklin, and Douglas' Aunt
Roslyn served -as head of the religious school in the
1940s and 1950s. Douglas and his sister Reta attend-
ed school and services there and, in 1956, it was
where he married Sydell, the daughter of Ben and
Pearl Nosanchuk. They have brought up their chil-
dren Julie, Brian and Ronald at the temple.
It was Aunt Roslyn who sparked Julie's love of Israel
when they traveled there together when Julie was a
teenager. One of the first girls to become a bat mitz-
vah at the temple, Julie traveled to Israel four times
before graduating from the University of Michigan.
At age 21, she bought a one-way ticket to Israel,
Douglas and Sydell Schubot at their store.
where today she lives with her family in northern Tel
Aviv.
Douglas has been an usher at Beth El during the
High Holidays for 48 years.
"I stand in front during the entire service on the
pulpit, next to the rabbis," he says. His presence is so
regular, says Sydell, "that if people don't see him there,
they wonder if he is well."
Both have served in various leadership positions
with the congregation.
But clearly, together with family and community,
the business, with its rich history, is very important to
them.
"Our customers can always trust what they buy is
top quality," Sydell says.
Their son Brian is a certified gemologist-appraiser.
An expert on watches and timepieces, Brian says he
has a fasciriation with how they are made and refers
to them as "mechanical miniature marvels."
Brian and his wife, Michele, live in Bloomfield
Township with their children, Justin and Zoe. He val-
ues the experience of working with his parents in the
family business.
"I have a desire to continue their traditions, to not
falter from what has been established," Brian says.
"It's important to uphold the honesty, ethics, integrity
and quality of the business. I want to look for new
things, but not give up on the foundations that have
made us successful." Fl
SONG OF HOPE from page 17
hub of the Detroit Jewish community, they had
already become taken with the downtown area, the
rolling terrain, the laid-back atmosphere and the excel-
lent schools.
When it was time to choose a synagogue, Shir
Tikvah was the logical choice because of its proximity.
"We came because of the location, but we stayed
because of the heimish (down-to-earth) atmosphere,"
said Dan Brunell. "Nobody judges anyone else, and
it's a diverse group of people who come together total-
ly for the religion and the common good. ,/
Dan Brunell, who was on the committee responsi-
ble for interviewing candidates for the new rabbi posi-
tion, is very enthusiastic about the selection of Rabbi
Starr.
"He personifies Shir Tikvah's values, and he and
Rabbi Arnie play off each other very well," he said.
"And Rabbi Arnie is beyond belief, he really brings
.
out the best in people. We love it here; we would
never leave.
Said Rabbi Arnie, "I don't know what the future
will bring. We will graciously welcome anyone who
wants to become part of our congregation, but we are
not really actively recruiting. We are very satisfied to
be who we are and where we are right now."
'WNT
7/ 9
2004
19