The West Orange community is brimming with excitement. The big announcement everyone had been waiting for came last week—the grand opening of The West Orange Fooderie will be October 23!
Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, rabbi of Congregation AABJ&D in West Orange, who was instrumental in bringing the Fooderie to the community, said: “As a community we are very excited about the grand opening of the Fooderie. Shloimy Gornish is invested in, and dedicated to, ensuring that the store is successful and that our community is serviced with a full-scale glatt kosher supermarket experience. When Shloimy was first interested in purchasing the store, he insisted that his vision was dependent upon the partnership he sought from the community. We look forward to many successful years of the Fooderie providing us with all of our kosher needs.”
Shlomo/Sam Gornish (Shloimy to his friends) is the owner of what is sure to be the hottest store the community has ever seen. In a pre-opening interview with The Jewish Link, Gornish shared the inside scoop about what future customers of the Fooderie can expect. From the outset, it was clear that he is looking forward to the store’s opening and plans to be a presence in the community for many years to come.
“This is a long term-project,” Gornish repeated several times. “We plan to show our customers that we’re here for them, for all their needs, as an inclusive one-stop shop. We’re going to have the products they’ve come to know and expect, and we will bring in more and even better products as we get their feedback as we go along.
“Input from our customers will be key,” he continued. “Tell me what you need and I’ll do my best to get it.”
The store is going to include the best elements of both a full-scale supermarket and a food court. Outside proprietors with whom the community is already familiar will have dedicated stations in the store, including a bagel and pizza station, a sushi station and a fresh deli station. Each of these stations will have its own ordering kiosk, and there will be a few tables scattered throughout the store for customers to sit and enjoy coffee and danish, egg on a bagel, pizza, sushi or a deli sandwich.
Coby Adler, owner of Super Duper Bagels in Livingston, will be the bagel and pizza proprietor. The plan is for him to open early each morning, offering coffee and coffee drinks, bagels, danish and more for commuters, students or anyone who likes to get an early start. He will also be making pizza on site in pizza ovens, which will be available for purchase later in the day. Rounding out his offerings will be a salad bar, smoothies and soft serve ice cream.
“I am so excited for the opening of the Fooderie!” said Adler. “I have been working with Shlomo over the past two months and believe that he is a total mensch [who] will work tirelessly for this new venture to succeed for years to come.
“Expanding the business to include a more restaurant-style venue with high quality food has been a vision for me for many years,” he continued, “and I am so grateful to have this opportunity to be able to serve our community from morning to night.”
The deli will serve both hot and cold food, prepared fresh daily, provided by Main Ingredient of Passaic. Gornish plans to have plenty of grab-and-go items, like sandwiches, main dishes, sides, salads and more. Likewise for the sushi, made by Simply Sushi; there will be freshly made sushi each day, and customers will be able to place custom orders via the kiosk.
The store will also have fresh cuts of meat and fish. The meat, provided by Prime by Ari, will be available at multiple price points, and there will be seasoned and marinated, ready-to-cook meats along with the unflavored cuts. To start, the fish will be cut fresh in-house, and there will be both seasoned and unseasoned fish available for purchase.
The Fooderie will have a full frozen and dairy aisle, multiple aisles of grocery items, and a produce aisle with whole and cut fruits and vegetables available. Products will be both “Jewish brands and regular supermarket brands,” according to Gornish, and prices will always be competitively low.
To ensure the store remains a one-stop shop for customers, there will also be a fully stocked aisle of paper goods, as well as some baby items like pacifiers, party goods, toiletries, and seasonal items like back to school products.
Gornish emphasized that he wants the store to be inclusive in all ways. He will have all the products customers want and need, but he also wants to be “a local supermarket for the whole community. Of course we are a kosher, Jewish store. But I want everyone to feel comfortable shopping here,” he said.
Rabbi Mendy Kasowitz, rabbi of Chabad of West Orange, said, “I am very excited and looking forward to the grand opening of Fooderie West Orange! Wishing them much hatzlacha!”
Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, rabbi of Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, shared, “We are very excited … I have known Shloimy Gornish for decades and I am confident in his ability to serve the community and our growing needs. We wish him and the entire crew much hatzlacha.”
Rabbi James Proops, rabbi of Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center in Livingston, said, “It is very exciting to have a dedicated kosher store … in the community. Despite the many other kosher options we have, I know many community members have missed the opportunity to visit a local kosher store.”
Gornish invites the entire community to join him on opening day, Sunday, October 23. “We’re going to have giveaways for our customers, to get them excited about the store,” he said. “The first couple of weeks will be a softer opening, but we hope to plan a grand opening celebration once we’re up and running,” again emphasizing that he and The West Orange Fooderie are here to stay.
The West Orange Fooderie is located at 629 Eagle Rock Avenue, in the old Aron’s West Orange location.
With questions, suggestions or for more information, email Gornish at [email protected]
