By Boris Kurbanov, Jewish Sound Correspondent
The sign posted on the front door read: “Stopsky’s was a project of the heart whose mission was to reconnect people to Jewish heritage, connect the community, and create homemade Jewish comfort cuisine from scratch. We achieved a lot of this, but in the end could not discover the magic formula to break even… we made the call to not be in the industry. No regrets.”
That was last summer, just three years after the Mercer Island-based Stopsky’s Delicatessen, tucked in the Islandia Shopping Center, opened its doors, boasting its “fresh sheet would feature cuisines from regions where Jewish people have settled,” including Italy, the site of the oldest Jewish community outside of Israel. In addition to honoring Jewish heritage, the Stopsky’s menu offered traditional Northwest fare.
Much of what Stopsky’s sold was prepared on site, including blintzes, latkes, bagels, pickles and smoked meats. Things were looking bright for Stopsky’s and its owners, Jeff Sanderson and his wife, Lara, who named the deli after Jeff’s grandfather, Gilbert Stopsky. Gilbert and his four brothers had arrived in the U.S. in 1905 from Ukraine and changed their surname to Sanderson.
Stopsky’s received impressive accolades, including being featured in Bon Appétit and Sunset Magazine, as well as being named one of America’s best delis by Food & Wine in early 2014. Stopsky’s was also listed as one of “new artisanal Jewish delis” in The New York Times just three months before closing shop.
Sanderson said he was happy with the way the closure worked out, and that his clientele was sad, but was also understanding because of the difficult nature of the restaurant business. As he was preparing to sell the deli, he had heard that Homegrown, the organic, made-to-order sandwich shop, was looking to Mercer Island for its next location as part of their goal to open three locations on the Eastside in 2014.
“It was a fortuitous set of circumstances in the sense that I was looking to close the restaurant and wanted to have the community served, but served in the way that we set out — to try to be organic and sustainable, as well as high quality,” Sanderson said. “And they’re Jewish kids from Mercer Island, so it was a nice fit.”
Sanderson, whose new venture, Stopsky’s Pickles & Preserves, has picked up where the shop left off, promises to keep the deli’s spirit in its jars. The artisan, hand-crafted products, which include pickled vegetable, smoked olive, fruit and preserve lines, are available at DeLaurenti’s in Pike Place Market, as well as Tacoma Boys, E. Smith Mercantile and Terra Bella, a stone’s throw away from Stopsky’s old location on Mercer Island. Sanderson said he is gearing to sell and ship directly to consumers around the country.
Homegrown opened its eighth location on Mercer Island on Jan. 7.
“It was both a hard and an easy decision to close the restaurant, as it’s a very tough business, but the concept and the heart and the spirit of Stopsky’s was right,” Sanderson said. “People loved the place, Jews and non-Jews alike, and we still felt the brand was worth preserving — no pun intended.”
For Homegrown co-founder Ben Friedman, it’s a coming home of all sorts. Friedman and co-founder Brad Gillis had a vision: An environmentally friendly business with a sustainable menu. The two childhood friends returned to Seattle after graduation from college to pursue a dream of owning a green business together. Homegrown emerged from that vision in 2009 with a single shop in the Fremont neighborhood, and has slowly expanded since. When the pair learned about Stopsky’s impending closure through their real estate broker, they knew where the sandwiches were headed next.
“It has been so fun opening up shop in our hometown,” Friedman said. “We can’t walk in the store without seeing the mom of a childhood friend…. Our reception has been really positive. It’s a very family-oriented community so we have lots of kids in there all day long. We’re super grateful for everyone’s support.”
Opening shop on the island was not always in the plan, Friedman said. Real estate professionals advised that Mercer Island wasn’t a fit for quick service. The low density, coupled with the small population, tends to scare business owners, but Friedman and Gillis felt they instinctively knew the market. They also wanted to fill a gap in healthy fast food on the island.
“Homegrown fills a void in most neighborhoods in which we open stores, offering high quality ingredients, ethical food sourcing and fast food convenience. It’s hard to check all those boxes and we knew Mercer Island didn’t have anything like that,” Friedman said. “It’s the same reason that Homegrown has had a successful launch in greater Seattle area — we’re filling a void. Most successful businesses are solving a problem, filling a void, finding a special niche. For us, we saw a hole in the market and went after it, and that’s atypical for a restaurant group, quick service or otherwise.”
Since opening that first Fremont location, Homegrown has practiced sandwich environmentalism, using a mix of organic and local grains and flours. Its menu has landed on Seattle Met’s “100 Reasons to Love Seattle” list.
Friedman said he and Gillis have learned a lot of lessons in six years, but the important one is perhaps this: “Social entrepreneurship is harder, but more rewarding,” he said. “Be customer-centric.”