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Andrew Jacob and Andre Najmolhoda

» cover story

American
Dreams

ai

Jewish-Russian immigrants have an
entrepreneurial spirit in common.

Jackie Headapohl I Managing Editor

V

WSU's new veggie cafe has both the bulgur and the blessing.

Esther Allweiss Ingber I Contributing Writer

osher dining has come to Wayne State
University's Midtown Detroit campus
with the creation of Gold 'n' Greens
Urban Fresh Cuisine.
Certified as kosher dairy, the cheerful-looking
dining hall has its own ground-floor entrance at
the Yousif B. Ghafari Residence on Anthony Wayne
Drive (Third Avenue) at Williams Mall, near West
Warren.
The vegetarian cuisine served here is not only

healthy and delicious, it's affordable, too. For those
without a campus meal plan, one price covers the
cost of an all-you-can-eat meal at breakfast, lunch
and dinner — for $5.50, $6.60 and $8, respectively.
The Southfield-based Council of Orthodox
Rabbis (Vaad Harabonim) provides strict kosher
supervision at Gold 'n Greens. Rabbi Joseph
Krupnik, the Vaad administrator, visits twice a
week and always has a mashgiach or supervisor

ladimir Gendelman, Erik Raykinstein, Steven
Smolkin, Alex Kheynson, Yuliy Osipov and Mike
Starobinsky all share some common bonds: They
were born in the former Soviet Union, immigrated to the
Detroit area — most to Northgate Apartments in Oak Park
— and today are all proud business owners.
From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, thousands of
Russian Jews came to the United States, many to the Metro
Detroit area, where the Federation offered help finding
homes and jobs, and interest-free loans were available
through Hebrew Free Loan.
Gendelman left his home in Kharkov, Ukraine, when he
was 15 in 1989. Like many Russian Jews, his first stop was
Austria, followed by Italy, where the young Russian Jew first
practiced his entrepreneurial skills.
"You weren't allowed to take any money out of Russia,"
Gendelman said, "so people would buy things they could
sell — everything from condoms and candy to watches and
clocks."
Many of the emigres were professionals, doctors and law-
yers, and they were uncomfortable hawking wares on the
street. That's where young Vlad came in. He would sell the
items on consignment from those people on the streets of
Italy at a profit.
"I remember walking the streets with a strip of condoms
flung over my shoulder like machine gun ammo, shouting
`anti-bambino," recalls Gendelman, who also sold Russian

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1942 - 2012

Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Every Week

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Longtime friends Mike Starobinsky, Steven Smolkin,

Erik Raykinstein, Yuliy Osipov and Vladimir Gendelman

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