Health & Fitness

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One Slice At A Time

Jerusalem Pizza's second restaurant opens inside the West Bloomfield JCC.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman
Senior Writer

I is been nearly two years since a new
kosher restaurant has opened in our
community, and 16 months since the
closing of the last kosher eatery inside the
West Bloomfield JCC.
On Aug. 26, Jerusalem Pizza, a kosher
venue in Southfield, opened its second
location in space that for six years housed
the fine-dining kosher restaurant Milk &
Honey whose kosher catering still is based
in the building.
JCC visitors can't help but notice the
new restaurant that borders the lobby near
the building's entrance, especially because
its sliding doors are kept open during
business hours.
"That practically brings us into the
lobby, so people can walk in the front door,
smell the pizza and right away see the
tables and TVs and know that something
is going on in there," said Brian Jacobs,
owner of both Jerusalem Pizza restaurants,
with his wife, Rivka.
The new eatery also is co-owned by
Paul Engel, who will serve as its manager.
Jacobs will oversee both stores, with Rivka
working primarily in Southfield.
A staff of 19, sporting newly designed
blue shirts and hats, will work the 70-seat
restaurant that includes an attached room
for overflow and parties.
"If we need to, we can also buy more
tables and set them in the lobby to make it
feel more open and welcoming," Jacobs said.
There is a bar-like eating area that Jacobs
describes as "a place to have a salad, pizza
and a Coke, relax and watch TV while your
kids are playing basketball:' For now, the
restaurant does not serve alcohol.
The menu features pizza, salads, sand-
wiches, calzones and soups. Baked dessert
items will be brought in from area kosher
bakeries, and freshly baked bagels will be
delivered each morning from Jerusalem
Bagel, inside the Southfield Jerusalem Pizza.

The Amenities

Hung high inside the restaurant are TVs
— three for advertisers, two for shows
like news and sports. Items from Coby's
Judaica Center, also inside the JCC, are
displayed.
Menu and catering options are the same
at both restaurants, with prices slightly

rent space in our building, our 150 staff
members, the 800 kids in the Kenny
Goldman basketball league and their
families, and the more than 1,000 inline
skaters."

Co-owners Paul Engel and Brian Jacobs, both of Southfield, at the new Jerusalem

Pizza in the JCC in West Bloomfield.

higher at the new venue to cover the cost
of amenities not offered in Southfield,
like glass dishes and real silverware, staff
to bus tables and offer drink refills, and
higher-quality carryout containers.
A large cheese pizza is $11.99 in
Southfield and $13 in West Bloomfield;
a personal cheese pizza is $3.75 in
Southfield and $4 in West Bloomfield;
french fries are $1.95 in Southfield where
they are oven baked, and $2.39 in West
Bloomfield, where they are fried and the
orders are slightly larger.
Credit cards can be used in West
Bloomfield; the plan is to add the conve-
nience in Southfield in the future.
The West Bloomfield store has a new
counter area where customers place orders
that are then brought to their tables by staff.
At a later date, table-order service may
be added as well as curbside delivery for
carryout orders, which now are picked up
inside.
The Council of Orthodox Rabbis of
Greater Detroit supervises both locations.
Food items — which are dairy and veg-
etarian foods made on dairy equipment
— follow the strict kashrut supervision
of being cholov Yisroel, pas Yisroel and
yoshon.

Great Tryout

During an Aug. 25 open house for JCC
staff, Jerusalem Pizza served lunch for 150
patrons, including development associate
Susan Chomsky of Southfield. Already a
fan of the Southfield store that catered her
three children's b'nai mitzvah parties, she
said she is "thrilled to have them" at her
workplace. Chomsky, who keeps kosher,
says it is important the restaurant be
kosher because she feels it is important
that a JCC restaurant be kosher.
"I am looking forward to the colder
months knowing that a delicious, warm,
kosher lunch is right upstairs:' she said.
A discount will be offered to JCC staff
and to the staff and students of the
Frankel Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit, also in the building. "We will try
to prepare different lunch combos for
the students to keep them enthusiastic:'
Jacobs said.
The restaurant will be a convenience for
others also, including members and fami-
lies of those participating in activities.
"We are looking to provide a service by
having the restaurant, not to make money
on the selling of food," said Mark A. Lit,
JCC executive director. "The restaurant
is here for so many, including those who

Kosher: The Only Option
That the new restaurant is kosher was
something "the JCC board insisted on," Lit
said. "We only interviewed for a kosher
restaurant:' A kosher Subway was an
option.
"Jerusalem Pizza was a better choice,
with a lot more variety of reasonably
priced sit-down meals that are kosher:'
Lit said.
The Oak Park JCC already has a sit-
down eatery, Sara's Glatt Kosher Deli and
Restaurant.
"The JCC wanted a kosher presence,"
Jacobs said. "The JCC wanted this to work
so they gave us an excellent lease to make
it doable. They also took care of removing
things that were there that we didn't need,
like a deli case."
Before opening, Jerusalem Pizza pur-
chased items including wall art, fryers,
microwaves, pizza ovens, a coffee line,
soda fountain, mixer and computers.
Repairs ere made to existing appliances.
"It was very important to us that this
became a successful operation," Lit said.
"We really wanted something that would
work with the Frankel school kids, mem-
bership and staff and be accessible to the
community. We are working very hard to
be the center of the community?'
After being open in Southfield for
more than 14 years, "now we are the only
kosher restaurant in West Bloomfield,"
Jacobs said. "And we are so glad to be able
to be inside the JCC, where we can cater to
all different organizations and activities
and to the community.
"And like it says on our brochures, we
want to continue to be the place "where
memories are created — one slice at a
time?" El

Jerusalem Pizza, JCC, 6600 W.
Maple, West Bloomfield. (248)
592-1200. Hours: 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Friday, closed Saturday, II a.m.-8
p.m. Sunday. Web site: Jpizza.com .

September 3 " 2009

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