O ne of many stories regarding restaurant ownership by men or women, is that of 10 men, led by one man who became its owner, vice pres- ident and gen- eral manager … and thoroughly enjoyed the suc- cessful realiza- tion of a fervent dream. His name … Sammy Lieberman, a well-liked caterer who, with nine others, found- ed the prestigious former Raleigh House on Telegraph Road in Southfield. Against many odds, the restaurant brains took hold as in 1973 it became what was to eventually become their ele- gant House of Lords gourmet dining room and Lion’ s Head English-style pub … Then two days later, with George Fink manager, was the opening of their Piccadilly Delicatessen (“When you pick a deli, Piccadilly”) and Sammy’ s son Erwin “Itsy” ran errands plus helped George cut the corned beef, etc. … and Raleigh House also soon became America’ s largest private catering firm. The new restaurants were opened in a record 10-months’ time, covering an area of 20,000 square feet … The House of Lords sat 156 with food brought in carts with selections from eight pages of gourmet choices … The Piccadilly Deli sat 166 … The Lion’ s Head seated 140 … and, among untold amounts in the elegant catering rooms, six that I walked through myself. Yes, it was a long way from 1943 when Sammy owned the Blaine Restaurant and Avalon Room in Oak Park … It was like a dream come true for him in 1973 … He now walked about it with a beam- ing face of his elegant House of Lords dining room and Lion’ s Head English Style pub, etc. … The Raleigh, America’ s largest private catering firm, became a part of Interstate United, then the fifth-largest food chain in the United States. Executive chef was Milos Cihelka, who had won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. Culinary Olympics in Frankfort, Germany. Opening of a 12-story, 300- room Raleigh Hotel never happened … But the new restaurants were opened in a record 10-month time. AS THE BAN on complete sit-down dining is reduced to 50% capacity, it may remind many folks to call numerous higher-end eateries for reser- vations … It might also give some eateries a huge oppor- tunity to get their fine servers and others back … and, if needed, some fixup at the restaurant. FORMER MAYOR of Oak Park, Jerry Naftaly, also turned author, is on his fourth book … Farrell’ s Ice Cream Parlour and his 34 years in Oak Park gov- ernment will be next … Many are saying, too, that he may run for mayor again. OLDIE BUT GOODIE … As soon as the Sabbath services had ended, the little boy walked up to the rabbi and said, “When I grow up, I’ m going to give you lots of money.” The rabbi laughed and asked, “That’ s really good to know, little man, but why do you want to do this?” “Because,” replied the young- ster, “my daddy says that you are the poorest rabbi we have ever had.” CONGRATS … To Irwin Cash on his birthday … To Lillian Cooper on her birthday. Email dannyraskin2132@gmail.com. Danny Raskin Senior Columnist the best of everything Raskin Raleigh House Remembered JULY 2 • 2020 | 45 thejewishnews.com/newsletter FRESH Daily Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox.