I
Opinion
A MIX OF IDEAS
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Dry Bones 4 9 ii&V,
Editorial
Bolstering Our
Business Base
T
o help stem the brain drain of the
younger generation of Jews mov-
ing away after earning a higher
education degree, and to help develop a
new class of homegrown innovators and
leaders, Hebrew Free Loan of Metropolitan
Detroit has unveiled an exciting three-
tiered approach to small-business loans.
This loan program is named hfl.bis
(Hebrew Free Loan Business Initiative
Stimulus). The program's intent is to
secure and enhance the Detroit Jewish
community. We applaud the initiative.
By offering short-term, interest-free
business loans, HFL, a private commu-
nity organization based in Bloomfield
Township, will encourage Jewish business
people and young entrepreneurs to remain
in Southeast Michigan and contribute
to the economic vitality of the region as
well as to the stability of the Jewish com-
munity.
The initiative offers credible applicants
three borrowing options:
• Option one is an in-house business
loan. Small businesses too undercapital-
ized to qualify for a bank loan can receive
up to $15,000 in a HFL loan to underwrite
their business model.
• Option two represents a partnership
with a couple of local banks. HFL will buy
a certificate of deposit at the bank; the CD
is pledged toward a piece of the collateral
required by the bank to extend the loan.
HFL's portion of the collateral on a given
loan cannot exceed $25,000 and no more
than 25 percent of the amount loaned. The
theory behind these figures is to control
the risk on any given loan, ensuring each
borrower assumes some liability. Besides,
HFL won't be the sole funder for many of
the borrowers.
HFL closed its first loan with Bingham
Farms-based Nstar Community Bank.
The loan will help two young men start
an Internet company, drive sales, hire staff
and grow the business.
• The third loan avenue boasts the high-
est profile. It's a bold collaboration with
Wayne State University's TechTown small-
business incubator in Detroit. Tech Town
provides a range of mentoring, business
development, research and networking
opportunities. Tech Town's aim is to help
recipients of the loan
partnership generate
enough revenue to, at a
minimum, repay HFL.
The partnership
won't be fleeting:
TechTown is commit-
ted to a long-term
relationship with
the Jewish com-
munity. Rightfully,
HFL is ecstatic about
the TechTown sup-
port services for loan
recipients and about
working alongside
Wayne State to help
our struggling region rebound. This part-
nership matters.
The fragile nature of the HFL-TechTown
bond will hinge on TechTown bringing
forth loan candidates from within its
educational sphere and who have viable
business ideas. HFL, through a new loan
committee, will examine each case and
decide how to grant and administer loans
to optimal benefit.
DryBones.com
Given its 98-percent repayment rate,
thanks to meticulous screening and flexi-
ble terms, HFL puts money into the hands
of people who will gain exponentially
while keeping the HFL financial risk low.
With a rich vein of promise, Wayne
State University and Hebrew Free Loan
certainly are doing their part to rejuvenate
the local business climate — so important
for Jewish Detroit. ❑
Reality Check
Shut Up And Chew
A
few weeks ago, Sherry and I went
to dinner at a place we hadn't
tried before. The young woman
who was our waitress found this out right
away and pledged that she would make
our meal the most important consider-
ation in her life for the next hour.
She tried very hard and the meal, for the
most part, arrived hot, timely and in the
right sequence.
Then it was time for dessert and Sherry
ordered her favorite, spumoni.
I thought our server was going to pass
out. She doubled over, let out a low moan
and informed us, in a voice that reached
beyond all the sorrow in humanity, that
this restaurant had no spumoni. She was
sure our entire dinner had now been
ruined and words could not express her
anguish.
And I thought: How does this place
train its people? Are they encouraged to
engage in such histrionics over every tiny
lapse? Do they believe customers enjoy
watching young servers go over the top?
I don't get it. Because this was
But there is also the other
side of the coin, I suppose —
really sillier than getting no
when you are hoping the waiter
training at all.
Of course, my biggest peeve is
... anybody ... will come over
and relieve the tedium.
when one of them comes barg-
ing into the conversation at the
There are some people who
table without any attempt to
are cursed with total recall.
They have no ability to self-edit.
size up what's going on. I don't
When they tell a story, every
know how many times I've been
detail, no matter how small and
building up to the punch line of
a good anecdote, or preparing
irrelevant to the main point,
must be examined. Did the
the context for an important
guy who broke the dishes live
chunk of information, and just
in Paris or London in 1965? It
as it's ready to rip here comes
makes no difference but the
Mr. Personality. And without
narrator can't let it go. Until it is
further ado:
"I want to tell you guys (it's always
settled to her satisfaction the story stalls
right there.
guys') about the specials we have tonight
Eyelids droop, someone comes danger-
and I know you don't want to miss out on
ously close to a yawn, and then we're at the
these. First of all, a salmon dish to die for
next roadblock: Was she wearing a mini-
that ..."
At this point, I impale him with a cold, . skirt that night or a caftan? And what did
hard stare, which he probably mistakes for the crest on those dishes say anyhow?
Finally, here comes the punchline: "And
fascination with the scrumptious news he
the cruise director said, 'Not while I'm
is just bursting to give us.
picking the petunias." The silence is hor-
rifying, but it doesn't seem to bother the
narrator in the least. He told the story the
way he wanted it told, and if half his audi-
ence had fled that was its loss.
There are places that get it right, of
course, and know its servers will make the
customers feel relaxed and comfortable
without the drama and heartburn:
Pepino's, that paragon of consistency in
Walled Lake, with the best trout, black-
bean soup and vodka martinis in town.
Moro's, the unique blend of Italian-
Macedonian cuisine and desserts that
make the trek to Allen Park worthwhile.
Jennifer's Café, with that old-fashioned
department store salad that sets my nos-
talgia juices flowing.
So many more, and I'll leave them to
Danny Raskin. But they are places that
never need to worry about this old cur-
mudgeon.
❑
George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aol.com.
January 7 • 2010
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