Back in 1979, when I moved to Baltimore, Jack’s Grocery was the “in” place to shop. It was a cozy, quaint, heimishe mom-and-pop grocery store, where everything from the freshest produce and canned goods to appetizing and hot take-out food specialties, all within two aisles. The proprietors, Jack and Rose Boehm, a”h, were hardworking, ehrliche, goodhearted Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia who worked their way up in America, despite not knowing a word of English when they arrived.
Mrs. Boehm was the
cashier. She kept a card file box by the cash register that contained accounts
for the people who had bought groceries on credit. Much of the debt remains
uncollected today, decades later. This was typical of the Boehms, a family for
whom chesed has no bounds; that
legacy continues until this day.
Waiting in line at
Jack’s single cash register, I would watch the Boehms’ son, Hershel, who worked
there when he was as young as 10 years old, stocking shelves, schlepping boxes,
and ringing up orders on Fridays so his mother could go home and prepare for
Shabbos. Little did I or anyone else – including Hershel – imagine that he
would one day become the owner of Seven Mile Market, one of the largest kosher
supermarkets in the United States. Hershel was 19 and learning in Eretz Yisrael
when his father called him to come home. He needed his help because Jack’s was
moving from Lower Park Heights to a new location: half of the building where
Tov Pizza is now located.
The Rest is
History
In 1988, Jack’s
was growing out of its space, when Hershel was approached by Josh Gutman, z”l, who owned a wholesale business and
retail butcher shop, with a proposal to join forces and open a supermarket in
the Valu-Food building on the corner of Seven Mile Lane and Reisterstown Road. The
senior Mr. Boehm temporarily left retirement to teach the Seven Mile Market
employees how to run the kitchen and appetizing departments.
The Boehm family
business torch was then passed down to Hershel, who worked with his
brother-in-law, Simcha Retter, for many years – just as Jack had worked with his
brother-in-law, Chaim Lipa Friedman, z”l,
when they partnered in a fresh fruit and vegetable store, from 1953 until the
two branched out to open separate stores.
In 2010, Seven
Mile Market relocated just around the corner to its present 18-aisle,
55,000-square-foot location (formerly Safeway) on Reisterstown Road. Hershel’s
son Moshe has been in the business for over 15 years learning every aspect of it
and, as vice-president, he is currently working with Moshe Dov Shurin, his CEO.
Hershel’s daughters, Chani Flamm and Miriam Zayon, and Miriam’s husband Moshe,
an amazing manager, along with the other amazing managers, are among the over
100 full- and part-time Seven Mile Market employees.
Fast Forward to
COVID Times
Then, just as the
supermarket was ready to celebrate its 31st anniversary, just days
before Pesach, COVID took the city – and Seven Mile Market – by storm. Coping
with COVID-19 obviously has been and continues to be a challenge for all of us,
and for Seven Mile Market, perhaps even more so. There were a lot of
adjustments that needed to be made.
“To say the least,
it has not been a walk in the park for us,” says Moshe Boehm. “Staffing, scheduling,
community representatives, health departments, customers, etc., all had their
needs, thoughts, desires, and wanted us to do exactly what they wanted. But
somehow, we made our way through this sometimes-undesirable maze, with the help
of Hashem.”
The store has
changed to make various “COVID-friendly” accommodations, among them, curbside
pickup and expanded deliveries. Setting up these services, along with the
store’s website, is an ongoing, constantly evolving process.
“People have
changed their shopping patterns, and we and our amazing staff have persevered,”
remarks Moshe. “We thank you, our dedicated staff, without specific names
because we don’t want to leave anyone out. Special thanks also go to Dr. Elie
Portnoy, who was beyond helpful when COVID broke. He went the extra mile with a
smile to keep us all safe. Kudos also go to the amazing volunteer shoppers, who
would shop late at night at the beginning of COVID to help people out. We also
appreciate those who help make it possible to have special late-night openings
for Yeshivas Ner Yisrael. We feel it is our way of helping the bachurim. Although it is not easy for
us, we do it for the boys.”
On top of all the
different challenges being thrown its way, Seven Mile Market lost some
employees this past year for a variety of reasons. Right before COVID, Yossi
Lax, their beloved produce manger, was niftar.
Another manager quit/retired due to COVID-related concerns; and, a few
employees left. Additionally, the store had to spend money on new equipment,
software for its delivery department, and many additional costs around the
store for PPE (personal protective equipment), an expense borne by the store,
not the customers or the government.
“In the beginning
of COVID, we had many new customers due to our dedicated staff sourcing
products from all over; I must say that we were well-stocked compared to many
other stores,” notes Moshe. “We were trying so hard to keep stocked, we would
buy from all over just to have the products for our customers; some things we
were basically selling at cost.”
Seven Mile
management shares that it experienced a not-so-funny incident due to the
situation. A woman who is not a regular customer came to shop at Seven Mile
because it had products you could not get elsewhere. She then turned around and
reported the store to the attorney general to prosecute it for price gouging. “The
particular product in question was very difficult to obtain,” says the manager.
“We had to pay a premium for it and were selling it almost at cost. We even put
up a sign near the product apologizing to the customers for having to sell the
item at such a high price.
“The time and
stress involved was tremendous. If she did not like the price, we would have
preferred that she not buy it. But to imagine that we would be reported for
what we felt was a chesed was pretty
unbelievable!” says Moshe. “With much chasdei
Hashem – and the amazing help of Maryland
Delegate Dalya Attar – we can keep smiling.”
Spring is in the
Air
Well, not quite,
but with Pesach less than three months away, how might COVID affect the
upcoming Yom Tov?
“Pesach, this
year, comes with a lot of unknowns and some unusual challenges,” explains
Moshe. “We always do our best to anticipate community needs and to purchase
accordingly. With COVID still very much around, it’s hard to know: Will more
people be home? Will more people be away? Will there be the usual guest list,
or a smaller one? Additionally, there are still supply chain issues in the food
industry.
“The consumer
should realize that there are many challenges with supplies for everything,”
continues Moshe. “Many distributors are facing challenges with receiving their
orders. One supplier has the food but cannot procure the correct lid needed for
the bottle. Another has the containers but can’t export them from the country
where they are located to where he needs them. Shipping by boat is also facing
many hurdles. Warehouses are short-staffed when it comes to filling orders. The
government food programs are also throwing a wrench into the mix by making it
hard to know what is needed. As always, we will continue to do our very best to
stock our shelves with a wide selection of your favorite products. We value our
customers, and we want our community to go into Pesach besimcha!”
With light
appearing at the end of the COVID tunnel, what does Seven Mile Market
anticipate with regard to post-COVID shopping habits? “I do believe there will
be a lingering post-COVID change in the way people shop, but let’s just get
there,” says Moshe. “This does not seem to be going away so quickly; it keeps
evolving. But with Hashem’s help, we will all come through.”
