Goldbergs Kosher Bakery and Deli Restaurant Review

23-09-2022

The name of the organization I attended and used to work for is called Goldberg’s Kosher Bakery and Deli. The person I interviewed is named Dan Knudsen and his wife. Dan mainly did all the talking. I felt lucky to be able to contact them because he hadn’t seen them in about two years.

His new bakery still has the same name, but it’s located in Hillsboro in a shopping complex. The original Goldberg’s was a fine dining restaurant located in the Lloyd Center Mall in Northeast Portland. The owner’s father died and passed the business on to her daughter and her new husband, who worked for her father in the 1960’s. The new owners opened in Hillsdale and just baked and ran a deli. They were no longer a fine dining restaurant. People always asked “Is this the same Goldberg’s from the Lloyd Center?” The answer would be “Same family just different operation”.

After owning a bakery in Hillsdale in the late ’70s, they moved a mile away to a location in southwest Portland. His marketing concept was simple; they wanted to have an old-fashioned Jewish bakery because the family was Jewish. The decoration consisted of photographs of the original family, including the father (owner), hung in the bakery. The bagels that were served were hand rolled and boiled before baking. That is clearly the old way. All sandwiches were made with bread baked in the bakery side of the establishment.

On Fridays a certain braided bread called “challa” was baked. I guess it’s Jewish tradition to eat this every Friday. That would be the busiest day. It was clear who the clientele was for that day of the week. There would be fresh roast turkey put on the sandwiches which were very popular. It was like baking a turkey for Thanksgiving and putting the meat directly on a sandwich. People would come from miles around. They were regulars and once again it was clear who the clientele was. The food was kosher and Jewish customers are not allowed to eat any other type of bread and bagels unless they are certified.
There was a lot of competition, especially during the holidays. Customers would search all over town for the perfect muffin for dinner. There were many other bakeries in the city. These included the bakery department of Elephant’s, Grand Central, Noah’s, and Albertson’s. I think customers chose Goldberg’s because they had already been going there for many years.

The products were mainly loaves of bread, bagels, sandwiches, and items such as ficcocia bread. There would be an option to have the bread sliced ​​or unsliced. The price was reasonable. It was $2.50 for a loaf of heavy bread. There were always four types of wheat to choose from, white, light rye and dark rye. I never found out how much the other local bakeries charged for their loaves.

The location wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either. It was located in a small strip mall in a neighborhood. There was a Jewish community center less than half a mile down the street. He knew, as did the owners, that this had to generate additional income. The main promotion would be a bagel, cream cheese and a coffee for one dollar. That might have been a lost item for the establishment, but I never asked. I’m sure if there was a profit involved, it was a lot.

One more marketing ploy they had was a sign that said a free bagel and cream cheese if it was your birthday. But that was minor compared to not having a billboard in front of your building. I think they just didn’t have the money for it.

Recommendations:

The male owner who did most of the cooking suffered a brain aneurysm. He was unable to work and the place had to close for about a year and a half. They never reopened at that location. Instead, they reopened in Hillsboro and are now holed up in a shopping complex. His main source of income stands out in Portland selling his products. They only use the commercial complex to bake their products and transport them to the stands.

When I recently visited the owners at the new location, I noticed a handwritten note on the door saying “We are open again and the tradition continues.” I thought it was awesome. Honestly, I don’t see them expanding much more than that. They are getting old.

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