jews d
in
the
Henry the
Hatter’s
New Digs
Oldest hat retailer feels
right at home in Detroit’
s
Eastern Market.
H
enry the Hatter is bringing a
new look to Detroit’
s Eastern
Market. With a wide selec-
tion of hats, plenty of style expertise
and highly trained salespeople, any-
one can find the perfect hat here —
even Michigan’
s own Kid Rock!
Henry the Hatter has been serving
the Detroit community for 126 years,
claiming the title of the oldest hat
retailer in the U.S.
In 1893, Henry Komrofsky opened
the store and only repaired top hats.
He was so successful that he eventu-
ally decided to sell different styles of
hats. As the store became even more
popular, Komrofsky took the busi-
ness a step further and began making
his own hats.
With the expansion of his shop, he
partnered with his former stock and
delivery boy, Gus Newman. From
there, they ran the business until
Komrofsky passed away.
Newman then decided to sell
Henry the Hatter to a savvy New
Yorker, Seymour Wasserman, who
uprooted his family and moved
to Detroit. Wasserman ran the
store with the help of his son, Paul
Wasserman, who helped make it
into the successful business that it is
today.
Paul Wasserman always wanted to
follow in his father’
s footsteps and
knew he was destined to work beside
him.
“I always knew that I would end
up here,” Wasserman says.
When his father passed away in
1998, Wasserman took over the store.
However, in 2017, he was not offered
a new lease and was forced to close
the Broadway Avenue location. With
no place to go, he almost decided to
retire and give the business to his
employee, Joe Renkiewicz.
When Wasserman announced the
closing of the store, he was shocked
by the community’
s response.
“There was such an emotional out-
pouring from the citizens of Detroit
it was like something was being
taken away from them,” Wasserman
says. “It was very, very humbling
and it really brought me to my knees
and, in a good way, it was like being
at your own funeral and seeing what
you mean to people.”
After that, Wasserman knew
what he had to do. He found a new
location in Detroit’
s Eastern Market
and officially opened his doors
in December 2017. Wasserman
then transitioned the business to
Renkiewicz, who will have complete
ownership of the store in 2027.
While the Broadway location
served its purpose, Wasserman is
much happier in his new location.
“It’
s a much nicer building and a
much nicer landlord,” Wasserman
said. “Sometimes things have a way
of working out for the best.”
Wasserman is a firm believer that
stores like his give Detroit its charac-
ter. The outpouring of support from
the community assures him of that.
“It’
s never about me; it’
s always
about the business,” Wasserman says.
“It’
s nice that I was the caretaker
for 45 years and that it has so much
meaning for the people of Detroit. I
don’
t know how you beat that.” ■
Check out Henry the Hatter at 2472 Riopelle
St. in Detroit’
s Eastern Market.
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORRIE COLF
Paul Wasserman
16 July 11 • 2019
jn
5 Detroiters Join ORT
America Board
On June 23 at ORT America’
annual
meeting, a new leadership team was
elected that includes five Detroiters:
Jim August, Dr. Conrad Giles, Bub-
ba Urdan, Andi Wolfe and Larry
Wolfe.
August has a longtime com-
munity service background that
includes the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, the Michigan
Jewish Conference, National
Foundation for Jewish Culture and
president of Detroit Men’
s ORT.
ORT America Executive
Committee member Giles was
appointed president of World ORT
in May 2016 and has decades of
service to ORT, the Jewish Council
for Public Affairs, Detroit’
s Jewish
Federation, Council of Jewish
Federations, the Jewish Agency
for Israel and the American Jewish
Joint Distribution Committee.
Executive member Urdan
received ORT America’
s first
National Leadership Award in 2016;
he is the 2019 ORT Michigan Rub-
a-Dub h
onoree and, on Aug. 20,
he will receive the Hermelin ORT
Legacy Award. He also serves on
the boards of Federation, JARC and
the Holocaust Memorial Center.
ORT America board members
Larry and Andi Wolfe have been
instrumental in helping ORT
advance its mission of achieving
impact through education. They
have traveled extensively to visit
ORT’
s programs and have support-
ed ORT’
s global educational net-
work of schools and programs.
Larry currently serves on the
board of trustees of World ORT.
He is on the boards of the Jewish
Fund, Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy
Network, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah
Partners in Torah, the Michigan
Israel Business Accelerator and
more. He is immediate past presi-
dent of Detroit’
s Federation. Andi
has been involved in ORT since
1973 and has been integral in accel-
erating progress in ORT schools.
She is a national board member of
the American Technion Society,
on the board of Hebrew Free
Loan, involved with Israel bonds
for 35 years and is a member of
Hadassah, NCJW and Adat Shalom
Sisterhood. ■