To Life!
THE SCENE
Slam Dunk!
Young adult bar night
in Berkley scores a crowd.
Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News
Jason Chess of Royal Oak, Josh Levine of Huntington Woods and Matt Brand of
Farmington Hills
Kalyn Fries and Mandy Carson, both of Berkley, and George Gulu of Troy
Lindsay Stern and Jodi Beals, both of West Bloomfield, and Melissa Blum of
Farmington Hills
T
he humid August air was thick
with the buzz of conversation on
the rooftop deck of 24 Seconds
Bar and Grill in Berkley. About 150 young
adults gathered in the open-air setting
atop the sports bar Aug. 9 for the chance
to chat, connect, and unwind.
"It's not just about meeting members of
the opposite sex:' said Erin Rosenberg,
26, of Royal Oak. "It's also about meeting
people in the Jewish community who are
my age and share some of my interests."
Some groups sat together around tables
eating pizza; others mingled over drinks
or caught up with friends.
"I went to Berkley High, so it's nice to
see a bar night here said Mandy Carson
of Berkley.
"We're trying to spread the bar nights
throughout the community," added
Rachel Wright of Birmingham, social
committee chair of the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit's Young Adult
Division. "We're planning future events in
Novi, Detroit, Birmingham and Royal Oak."
24 Seconds, named for the number of
seconds on the shot-clock in basketball,
is owned by two Jewish partners, Bob
Bronstein of Oak Park and Alan Bakst of
West Bloomfield. They opened the sports
bar on 12 Mile Road in November 2005,
complete with big-screen and high-defini-
tion TVs, video games and a full menu.
"Ferndale and Royal Oak were already
full of bars:' Bronstein said. "We wanted
to settle in a place that's on the rise and
Berkley's definitely on the rise. A lot of
young people are moving here."
Spotted in the bar night crowd were:
Kate Bush of Detroit; Natalie Finn of
Royal Oak; Jason Gold, Adam Wright
and Lindsay Stern, all of West Bloomfield;
Phil Okun and Josh Levine, both of
Huntington Woods; Julia Olevenick of
Berkley; and Sara Zonder and Lauren
Herskovic, both of Birmingham. I I
Ariana Blumenfeld of Berkley and Rachel
Wright of Birmingham
Jesse Gales of Commerce and Aaron
Scheinfield of Birmingham
The next YAD bar night is planned for Sept.
20 at a location to be determined. For more
information about upcoming YAD programs and
events, go to www.jewishdetroit.org/yad.
Lauren Friedman of West Bloomfield, Jill Munro of Huntington Woods and Rachel
Rohde of Birmingham
38
August 23 • 2007
/1.
Micki Lynn of Farmington Hills and
James Rubinstein of West Bloomfield