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