Sour times for much-loved Mooz Brothers

NICOLA MILTZ

You won’t be smelling freshly baked challahs coming from the famous eatery this Friday for the first time in many years.

“It’s a very sad sign of the times,” said owner Leonard Meyerowitz.

“It’s an overtraded market with a diminishing clientele, and sadly it’s been impossible to survive,” he said.

This, coupled with multiple kosher licences by the Beth Din, and the proliferation of “kosher-style” home industries, sounded the death knell of the business, Meyerowitz said.

Angry and bewildered staff, many of whom have been working in the establishment for more than ten years, protested outside the store demanding to know what was happening. Meyerowitz told his staff on Tuesday that the shop was closing after they heard rumours and became concerned.

He has promised to try find alternative employment for the 30 to 40-odd staff members by approaching other bakeries and food establishments. Meyerowitz is also involved with The PieWorks, the tuckshop at Yeshivah College, and Jozi Blue, all of which were supplied goods by Mooz Brothers.

Upset and angry staff members told the SA Jewish Report that they were told, “There’s no more money”.

Long standing employee, Sukoluhle Matshazi, told the newspaper that the news had come as a shock to her.

“I have worked at Mooz for 11 years. I can’t believe we are closing. I’m sad. I have made many friends, and now there are many of us who will lose our jobs. What will we do, we have families to feed? It’s sad to see suppliers coming to collect stock, and to see the shelves empty.”

Her colleague, David Nkabinde, said he loved his job, and felt lost.

“I’m so down. I told my parents, and we are devastated. I have worked here for eight years. The customers know me. I have built relationships. When they see me, we chat about their orders, and I help them.”

The staff – many of whom belong to a union – are waiting to hear their fate. “We have been told there is no more money, and they cannot pay us,” said Matshazi.

The staff recorded a meeting held on Tuesday in which Meyerowitz told them he would try his best to help them.

He is heard saying, “I’ll do my very, very best to find everyone some or other opportunity. When we closed the PieWorks and Mooz at Genesis, I found work for seven out of the ten employees affected.”

He assured his staff that he had tried his best to stay afloat.

According to Meyerowitz, when Mooz Brothers first opened in 2006, the Beth Din stipulated that it was not allowed to sell a scone with a cappuccino because there was a bakery next door called Kosher King, and Mooz was not allowed by Jewish law to interfere with a fellow neighbouring trader’s income.

“Nowadays, it’s a free-for-all. I recall having to buy the bakery next door so that we could expand our menu,” said Meyerowitz.

He said there were four kosher bakeries on the so-called kosher strip in George Avenue, lamenting that it was “too many in one area with a diminishing clientele”.

The company essentially traded for only 200 days a year taking Jewish and school holidays into account, which added to the difficulties in making a profit. Meanwhile, Spar and Pick n Pay trade all year round.

This brings to three the number of large bakeries shutting up shop in recent months, including Friends Bakery and Brioche, all within walking distance.

“I’m devastated, Mooz was an institution, but the reality is there are too many kosher bakeries in the same area,” says Meyerowitz. “Our expenses are R150 000 for electricity and rent alone. I haven’t gone out to harm anybody, but sadly, the market has tanked. We’ve tried our best. This has a disastrous ripple effect with bad debt and losses.

“I believe Mooz changed the dining landscape. We were pioneers, and slowly became an institution, a point of reference for people, a sociable meeting point. We started the process of funky dining, so it’s very upsetting.”

The much-loved milk establishment best known for its delicious cheese blintzes, melk tarts, and wholesome party platters, defined the so called kosher strip in Sandringham.

The phrase “shmooz at mooz” is well known by patrons, who have long supported the shop with its haimish (homey) pavement café vibe situated in the Jewish hub on George Avenue.

Some said the establishment had not been the same since its beloved manager, popular baker and restauranteur Yonatan Helper, passed away as a result of a stroke in 2016. Said one staff member, “Yoni was Mooz. When he died, a part of the shop died with him.”

Mooz Brothers was established by Leonard and Charles Meyerowitz in 2006. According to the bakery’s website, the two Krugersdorp-born brothers, who owned Dairy World, decided that they wanted to grow Kosher milchik (dairy) offerings in Johannesburg.

And this week, loyal customers expressed dismay and disappointment at losing their favourite haunt.