54 | APRIL 30 • 2020 

A

t the risk of repeat-
ing myself, as I have 
written several times 
before, when doing research 
in the William Davidson 
Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History for one topic, I 
always find another interesting 
story on another subject. In 
this case, while 
during research 
for my recent 
“Looking Back” 
on the history 
of Jews and 
supermarkets, I 
also learned that 
Jewish Detroiters 
founded the 
largest chain of grocery stores 
in Israel.
Super-Sol, or Shufra-Sal in 
Hebrew, is the preeminent 
supermarket chain in Israel 
today. It is one of the largest 
companies in Israel with about 
250 stores that employ more 
than 12,000 people. 
In 1957, two Detroiters liv-
ing in Israel — Herbert Yahiel 
Hordes and Alan Feinberg 
— decided that it was a good 
time to open that nation’
s first 
supermarket. They recognized 
a serious need to lower the 
cost of food there. 
It is also interesting to note 
that, per his obituary in the 
Oct. 25, 2007, issue of the JN, 
Hordes fought in Israel’
s War 
for Independence in 1948. 
One can assume that he per-
sonally understood the critical 
role that food played in the 
young nation’
s history.
Feinberg and Hordes had 
a great idea, but they needed 

expertise and, most important, 
investors. The Jewish commu-
nity in Detroit provided both. 
A front-page story of the JN
on April 5, 1957, “Detroiters 
Join Israelis’
 Project for 
Supermarkets,” tells the story.
Along with Feinberg and 
Hordes, the founders of 
Super-Sol were a who’
s-who 
of Jewish supermarket lead-
ers in Detroit. John E. Lurie, 
president of the Wrigley chain, 
was an original investor, and 
his brother, Nathan Lurie, 
was a co-founder as well as 
first chairman of the board 
of Super-Sol. Tom and Al 
Borman from the Farmer Jack 
supermarket chain also pro-
vided support. Other investors 
from Jewish Detroit included 
Paul Zuckerman (founder of 
grocery product Velvet Peanut 
Butter), Irwin Cohn and Sam 
Frankel.
There were also supporters 
from outside of Detroit. A 
story in the Jan. 24, 1957, issue 
of the JN cites a key investor 
was Bertram Loeb, owner of 
Super-Sol Ltd. of Canada, a 
supermarket chain with 100 
stores.
The first Super-Sol opened 
in Israel in 1958, and it was 
a huge success. A year later, 
a report in the Nov. 6, 1959, 
issue of the JN stated that four 
additional stores would soon 
open in Israel. A photo shows 
Loeb, Feinberg and Hordes 
with Mrs. Ed Sullivan cutting 
the ribbon at the opening of 
the original Super-Sol. 
In 1962, Super-Sol won the 
Kaplan Prize for “pioneering 

efforts in Israel’
s industrial 
undertakings.” This presti-
gious award was named for 
Eliezer Kaplan, Israel’
s first 
finance minister. 
I also liked the JN
story on Dec. 16, 1988, 
about Super-Sol’
s annu-
al American “Food 
Fair.” During this 
special promotion, 
Israelis could buy such delica-
cies as Skippy peanut butter, 
Hellman’
s mayonnaise and 
Duncan Hines cake mixes.
To say the least, Super-Sol 
was an immense success in 
Israel. And, Jewish 
Detroiters’
 prowess 
in the grocery busi-
ness provided the 
crucial foundation 
for Super-Sol. 
By the way, 
in the 1960s, 
Detroit had its 
own Super Sol 
market. Owned 
by Morris Berg, 
it was located on 
West Seven Mile 
Road. 

Want to learn 
more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, 
available for free at 
www.djnfoundation.org.

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Israel’s First Supermarket

trial
esti-
d for 
first

-

delica-
utter, 

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair
ish
ess 
usi-
he 
on

n 
e 

e DJ
ves, 
at 
on.org.

JN 

