New Moshavi owners serve up tradition, change

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

Moshavi, the eight-year-old glatt kosher meat restaurant in Livingston, has a new owner.

And while the name will remain the same, other changes are coming or have already happened. Prices are down, and a pizzeria, opened in the space at the back of the restaurant in March, is closed.

Yonatan Re’em, together with his wife, Sarit, formerly a Jewish day school teacher, and longtime family friend Benzion Gadon purchased the business from its founder, Avi Azulay, in June.

“It was appealing to us and looked promising,” said Yonatan Re’em who, along with Gadon, has a background in the food industry. In addition to catering, they run the cafeteria at four schools, including the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County on Long Island.

The three, all originally from Israel, now reside in Westbury, Long Island. They have also rented a small place locally for convenience.

Although the new owners said the pizzeria was turning a profit, they didn’t like the idea of competing with nearby Jerusalem Pizza for the dairy kosher market.

“To own a restaurant is not like owning any other kind of store,” said Sarit Re’em. “A kosher restaurant belongs to the Jewish community; it is part of the Jewish community and should have a Jewish ethical understanding in it. It just didn’t feel right to do pizza.”

The restaurant will host classes with a local rabbi on Monday nights and reinstate singles’ nights on Saturdays, along with music and dancing events. They also plan to add more salads to the menu and make the decor “warmer, homier,” she said, adding that she wants to ensure that the groceries offered won’t be found anywhere else locally.

All of these changes will occur little by little, she said.

Meanwhile, Azulay, who has been helping the new owners and was in the establishment on a recent Wednesday afternoon as customers streamed in to place orders for Rosh Hashana, does not seem to miss the place. “I have two kids. I need to be home. Twenty-two years in the food business is enough. I’m out,” he nearly shouted, with a small grin on his face.

As Gadon scribbled down phone orders behind the counter, Sarit Re’em met with customers to help plan their menus. Emerging from the kitchen, her husband sat down to enjoy a piece of his favorite food — schnitzel — before returning to work.

Sarit Re’em said she has been amazed at the warmth of the community.

Area rabbis have come in to welcome the new owners, and e-mail messages have gone through synagogue lists encouraging people to patronize Moshavi.

“We have come to a place where we didn’t know anyone, and people are coming again and again. It gives us a really nice feeling.”

Moshavi is under the kashrut supervision of the Va’ad Hakashruth of MetroWest. It is open Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. When Shabbat ends early, the restaurant will be open Saturday nights.

Johanna Ginsberg can be reached at jginsberg@njjewishnews.com.

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