No matzeh by the Bay

Just received an interesting email about matzeh in the San Francisco Bay area.

More accurately, the LACK of matzeh on Bay area stores.

The email contained a link to a San Francisco Chronicle SFGate.com article which is worth reading.

The link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BA14109EAK.DTL

One paragraph caught my attention. "Costco stores in the Bay Area didn't stock any matzo, store operators said. Company spokespeople didn't return alls. Trader Joe's decided to not stock matzo nationwide - though the shortage appears largely restricted to the Bay Area."

Seems to me that Cosco and Trader Joe's apparently don't want Jewish business.

Where I hang my hat, we have well-stocked Safeway, Giant, and Shoppers supermarkets, and a couple of Wegmans - and this is not a particularly observant area. There also are two kosher markets (markets specializing in kosher food?) within a relatively short drive.

Matzeh was in abundance before Passover began. Even sh'murah matzeh was available "off the shelf" and from Chabad and probably other sources.

As the Chronicle article noted, Passover is the one time of the year when even the totally non-observant Jew buys kosher; for many kosher markets, this is their "Christmas" make-or-break season.

I'm glad I have alternatives to Costco and Trader Joe's. If they don't want my custom, I can go where it is considered worth courting.

yohanon

To be fair

Trader Joe's apparently is bowing to customer pressure. I received the following email on Day 4.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our selection of kosher for Passover foods. We have never carried an extensive line of Kosher for Passover products. We currently carry Empire Kosher Chicken, as well as a few candy items that are Kosher for Passover. However, part of our holiday evaluation process this year involves us looking at expanding the amount of Kosher for Passover items we will carry in our store in the future.

Based on the conversations we've had with our store Captains, and with customers this year, we will have matzo next year, as well as an expanded selection of Kosher for Passover products...particularly in the meat case.