A Small Store with a Big Heart

Yom sheni, 10 Cheshvan 5774.

We got some great news last week: our local makolet isn't going to be sold to strangers after all!

Moshe, Sasha, Sahri, and Yoram are eager to give great service!

The Dearly Beloved and I had been slightly depressed for a few weeks, because Moshe was planning to sell Super Torjman, for financial and personal reasons. As much as he has tried to keep prices competitive, we from America know that "competing with WalMart" is a nearly impossible battle. As much as we would miss the convenience of our high-class "mom-and-pop" grocery store, we understood that there was no choice. We hoped that the new owners wouldn't be too much of a disappointment, even as we knew that nobody could replace the team of Moshe, Yoram, Sasha and Sahri.

The good news: Moshe decided, at the eleventh hour, not to sell. His reason: he learned that the potential buyers did not intend to run the store at all, but merely to "flip" it for a quick sale.

"You have to love a store like this, and work at it from inside. You can't just treat it like a business," said Moshe.

Moshe has always tried to offer excellent service, ordering what customers requested, constantly upgrading departments (including bringing in an in-store butcher shop and many specialty products from Europe and the US), and offering deals whenever possible. Our grocery store is in a safe neighborhood... so there is no problem sending small children to do their own nosh shopping, and bigger kids to do light family shopping. And, let's face it: "the super" is just a short or long walk for everyone in the yishuv, as opposed to the big stores, where a car is a necessity.

I asked Moshe what he will do to try to make the store a financial success, so that he can stay indefinitely.

"We'll try to get the word out on a regular basis about special deals and new products," he said. "We'll keep reminding people that if they want something, let us know, and we'll try to get it for them."

To our fellow Neve Daniel residents: wherever you prefer to do the majority of your shopping, do what you can to support the small business entrepreneurs in our area -- to include Moshe and Super Torjman.