40 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022 

BUSINESS

the Schostak family made 
a contribution to another 
Detroit staple celebrating its 
centennial — the Isaac Agree 
Downtown Synagogue, which 
is currently going through a 
complete renovation. 
Already planning to make 
a contribution, the Schostak 
brothers increased their 
original contribution after 
taking a tour of the synagogue 
and seeing some of the things 
they’re doing to the building.
“Within that facility, there 
will also be a study area we’re 
going to dedicate in our father’s 
memory,” Bobby said. “It’ll 
help to continue the legacy of 
our family Downtown and his 
memory down there. I think it 
gives us another opportunity 
to build on our Jewish heritage 
and Jewish legacy as well as 
the family’s connection to 
Downtown.”

When their offices were 
Downtown, Louis and Jerry 
Schostak would go to the 
synagogue for yahrzeit, to 
say Kaddish and more. 
“I think doing something 
with the Downtown 
Synagogue was very 
meaningful to us with that 
history,” Mark said. 
For the third-generation 
Schostak brothers, being 
prepared to compromise 
and working on consensus 
decision-making have been 
keys to success. 
“If you’re going to have a 
family business, it has to be 
run by consensus,” David 
said. “There’s a larger goal 
out there, so when you come 
into every discussion, it’s 
not about drawing a line in 
the sand or believing you’ve 
got the only answer to this 
thing.” 

With the business today 
being so different from the 
one their grandfather and his 
brothers started as well as the 
one their father was involved 
in, one of the core values of 
the third-generation Schostak 
brothers is to be open-minded 
and flexible. 
“We don’t look at it as a 
static business,” David said. “It 
continues to evolve, and if it’s 
going to continue to survive 
for the next 100 years without 
us, it’ll have to continue to ebb 
and flow and change with the 
times.”
Of the fourth-generation 
Schostak children, Bobby’s 
son, Jeff, currently works 
with David on the real estate 
business side.
The brothers believe what’s 
in store for future generations 
is up to them. 
“We really shouldn’t be 

dictating to them what they 
want to do,” David said. 
“They’ve got to find things 
they like, things they’re 
passionate about, things they 
enjoy doing. And then I think 
the family needs to be there 
to support them in those 
endeavors. 
“Maybe it’s the real estate 
business, maybe it’s the 
restaurant business, maybe 
it’s not. The success for more 
generations is not to try to 
clone ourselves, but to clone 
our culture and let them 
define it the way they want. It 
will be better and healthier for 
them to make those decisions 
themselves.”
Mark added, “It’s about the 
importance of our people and 
our culture. That’s first and 
foremost. And that’s why we’ve 
been so successful for so many 
years.” 

continued from page 39

here’s to

The Jewish Woman 
Entrepreneur announced 
that Jenna Beltser of 
Southfield has been 
named the national 
program director of the 
nonprofit, which provides 
Jewish women with edu-
cation, community and 
mentorship to grow personally 
and professionally. She will blend 
her background of working with 
founders with her passion for 
improving the lives of Jewish 

women by expanding the 
JWE’s high-quality pro-
gramming, overseeing its 
implementation and building 
infrastructure for each of 
the organizations’ three pil-
lars: education, community 
and mentorship. Her duties 
will include overseeing city 
chapter expansion, developing 
further programming, planning 
the international conference and 
building out the JWE’s online 
offerings. 

President Joe Biden 
announced the appointment 
of Nancy D. Berman of 
Huntington Woods to 
the Commission for the 
Preservation of America’s 
Heritage Abroad. 
Additionally, this fashion 
designer has just created the first women’s 
necktie brand. Berman has worked to flip the 
narrative of the traditional, male-dominated 
fashion accessory – creating a line of ties 
specifically for women and gender-fluid 
individuals.

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