Kosher eateries tighten belts and innovate

JORDAN MOSHE

COVID-19 has changed the way food outlets operate and will continue to do so for some time. Empty tables and reduced menus have become the new reality, but some eateries in Jewish Johannesburg are making changes that they hope will help them ride out the storm.

“The nature of business has changed,” says Feigels business development manager Tamar Dakes. “The virus resulted in a drop in trade and functions stopped. We had to look to where there is business, adjust our focus, and tighten up wherever we could. It has given us the chance to consolidate and work according to our strengths.”

Until recently, Feigels operated out of independent stores at Kingswood Centre in Glenhazel and BluBird Shopping Centre, a deli space in KosherWorld, and a production site in Lyndhurst which included a front shop and supplied the other branches.

From the outset of the nationwide lockdown, Feigels found ways to adjust to the new reality. It wasn’t easy, not least because Pesach was approaching.

“The time just before Pesach is usually extremely busy for food stores, but many simply didn’t take Pesach orders this year,” says Dakes. “We wanted to keep our staff safe, so we decided to close the shop front at Lyndhurst and use it solely as a manufacturing plant.”

Although the Glenhazel branch continued to operate initially prior to Pesach, the decision was taken to close it owing to security concerns. Dakes says that only Connie Mashiane, a long-serving staff member and the beloved face of the Glenhazel branch, was managing the store, and she was concerned about her safety.

“It didn’t make sense to keep her there,” says Dakes. “She was the only person in the entire centre. It was eerie, quiet, almost ghostly. We felt that by running at BluBird and KosherWorld and supplying supermarkets with products, our customers could buy elsewhere.”

Even subsequent to the country’s move to level-four lockdown, it made sense to keep the Glenhazel store closed. The front shop at Lyndhurst was also closed.

“I consulted Kevin Hedderwick, a mentor and the former chief executive of Famous Brands,” Dakes says. “His advice was to focus on consolidation under COVID-19, reduce costs, avoid incurring debt, and keep it simple. We realised that Feigels had to reduce its overheads without retrenching staff.

“Now it’s all about being innovative and conservative, which isn’t an easy balance. We’ve reviewed our menu, tightening up what we offer, and spent time re-establishing our core objectives and vision. We’ve created a new frame of reference against which to check ourselves continuously as we move forward in a new reality.”

Though Dakes relishes the opportunity to pilot innovation, she admits it has been somewhat difficult for her family to accept the change. This includes her mother, Patsy Dakes, as well as her uncle, Joss Zaslansky, both integral personalities within the business and known across the community.

“It’s been thrust on us very suddenly, and the older generation finds it more difficult to accept the changes,” says Dakes. “They weren’t given much of a choice. Joss has always looked after the Glenhazel branch like a child, often spending the whole day there and interacting with customers with warmth and passion.

“I don’t think this would have been as welcome had it not been for the new reality. We opened in Glenhazel in 1993, and I worked there with my cousin, Nadine, for more than a year. We passed it on to Millie, Joss’s sister-in-law, who ran it for 17 years. It’s been part of the family.

“Still, the change made sense. This new reality gave us a safe space in which to make the change. We could allow logic to override emotion. It’s very sad to close, but it’s part of a natural order of things.”

In spite of the challenges involved, other kosher establishments have also taken up the opportunity to implement innovative change. Closing entirely when lockdown began, Frangelicas lost three out of its four sales channels (functions, catering, and sit-down) and changed to a food emporium, separating production from the shop entirely.

“We limited our operating hours, the number of products we make, and most importantly, the number of staff on the premises at any one time,” says owner Simon Godley. “The virus has introduced a host of challenges, and we have changed the business model to address them.”

There is now more time to reflect, consolidate, and plan positively for the future,” Godley says. “It has also been a good lesson in dealing with a rapidly changing environment. We’ll be more reliant on our new business model, and will continually innovate in that direction.”

Similarly, Michelo’s Pizzeria has used the opportunity to drive its online order and delivery service, maximising its ability to operate without in-store customers by partnering with a courier service.

“We’re keeping things as easy and simple as possible,” says store manager Justin Baskin. “We initially offered frozen items only, but as things have eased, we’ve been able to operate online and offer the community a menu featuring most of our items coupled with fast delivery.”

Baskin says as many as 80 deliveries can be made on a Sunday, stressing that none of these would have been possible before the delivery innovation.

“Without the new system, we could never had facilitated all the orders. We are affected by the lack of sit-downs, and I don’t know if we’ll have increased sales, but we’ve perhaps emerged a little stronger and with an effective system moving forward. We’ve been very fortunate.”

Says Dakes, “My life has taught me that in every challenge, there’s light on the other side. We need to innovate if we’re going to make it. It’s our job to transform the darkness into something positive.”