{"id":47124,"date":"2025-07-11T01:49:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T08:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=47124"},"modified":"2025-07-10T16:49:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T23:49:50","slug":"omnitskys-new-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/omnitskys-new-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Omnitsky\u2019s new place"},"content":{"rendered":"

The move of Omnitsky Kosher to Fraser Street has been a positive one overall, says owner Richard Wood. <\/i>(photo by\u00a0 <\/span>David J. Litvak)<\/i><\/p>\n

Omnitsky Kosher recently reopened on Fraser Street in East Vancouver. Forced to move from its Oak and 41st location because of redevelopment, the deli\u2019s owner, Richard Wood, took advantage of the situation to rebrand Vancouver\u2019s longest operating kosher butcher and deli, which has its roots in Winnipeg\u2019s North End.<\/p>\n

Eppy Rappaport, who bought Omnitsky\u2019s from William Omnitsky in 1983, brought the deli from Winnipeg to Vancouver almost 30 years ago. It\u2019s a Canadian institution, having been established by William Omnitsky\u2019s father, Louis, in 1910. Wood took over the business just over a year-and-a-half ago.<\/p>\n

When the deli opened on Fraser Street two weeks before Passover, it was only selling Passover products. It\u2019s now back in full operation, and bigger than ever.<\/p>\n

The new store is significantly larger than the old one. Divided into two sections, one half is basically a grocery store with an array of kosher products, ranging from meat, poultry and cheese, to grape juice, challahs, pickles, herring, crackers, cookies, and many more kosher items. The other half is a dining area that seats 40 to 50 people for breakfast, lunch, snacks and shmoozing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone,\u201d said Wood, \u201cloves the spaciousness, the openness, the d\u00e9cor and the feel of the new dining area.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hopes that, eventually, the restaurant will be open for dinner as well, so that Jews who keep kosher \u201ccan enjoy a dinner out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other than the larger dining room, Wood notes other differences between the Oak Street store and the one on Fraser: longer operating hours, additional kosher products and, in response to customer requests, more takeout meals.<\/p>\n

Wood has started a WhatsApp group to let customers know about specials and to inform them about new products being offered, such as chicken wieners and salamis.<\/p>\n

Omnitsky\u2019s hosted its first event in April. The event itself was a first-ever in Vancouver: a third Passover seder, organized by Jewish Addiction Community Services Vancouver, which was led by Rabbi Joshua Corber, JACS\u2019s director of addictions and mental health services. According to Wood, it was a rousing success that attracted more than 50 people.<\/p>\n

Wood is open to hosting other after-hours events, like parties, book launches, poetry readings, musical performances, etc. He welcomes people\u2019s suggestions, as he envisions keeping the restaurant open longer hours to accommodate the dinner crowd as well as bar and bat mitzvah parties.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
When Omnitsky\u2019s first opened, it was only selling goods for Passover. Now, the store is offering a full selection of kosher products and the restaurant a full menu. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to serving dinner on a daily basis, Wood said, \u201cWe want to offer some different menu items, like salmon or steak, to give our customers some affordable dining options, because going out for dinner is not cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood\u2019s long-term plans for Omnitsky\u2019s include employing a baker a few times a week to make bagels, pastries and other treats.<\/p>\n

The deli is doing well in its new location, attracting new \u2013 and different \u2013 customers than it did on Oak Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cA majority of our clientele and regulars have returned, but we are seeing an increase in younger families coming in from the neighbourhood and younger Jewish families who are coming in for lunch on Sundays, which has been a popular day, and this is a major change from the old store,\u201d said Wood. \u201cIn addition, we are having a broader increase in non-Jewish clientele coming in.\u201d<\/p>\n

This growth will require some innovative thinking to maintain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge with the non-Jewish clientele is that the price of kosher food is substantially more expensive than non-kosher food and, therefore, some of our new non-Jewish customers in the neighbourhood find Omnitsky\u2019s to be pricey,\u201d said Wood.<\/p>\n

While he is offering some value-added combos \u2013 for example, a hotdog, fries and a drink for $9.95 and a sandwich with fries and a drink for $24.95 \u2013 to make things more affordable for customers, he said, \u201cthe price of meat is something we have no control over.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another challenge for Omnitsky\u2019s is that some customers of the previous store, which was in the heart of the Jewish community, find it difficult getting to the new location. To address this issue, the deli offers free delivery on orders over $50.<\/p>\n

Wood is open to suggestions from customers about how to improve the menu or any aspect of the store.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am always open to feedback either positive or negative,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While there have been some growing pains, including staffing and equipment issues, the move of Omnitsky\u2019s to Fraser Street has been a positive one overall, said Wood, who would like his customers to see the deli, which also offers catering, as more than just a place to buy kosher food.<\/p>\n

Jewish life \u201crevolves around family, food and prayer,\u201d said Wood, and he would like the Jewish community to view Omnitsky\u2019s as a meeting place where they can shmooze, bump into their friends and be proud to be Jewish. A place where they can say \u201cAm Yisrael chai,\u201d have a kosher meal, do their Shabbat or holiday shopping or order takeout \u2013 even order shiva platters, which can be prepared on short notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want Omnitsky\u2019s to be there for our customers through good times and bad times, for simchas and in times of mourning,\u201d said Wood.<\/p>\n

For more information on the deli, check out omnitskykosher.com<\/a> or head to 3435 Fraser St. and grab a bite, something to eat in or take home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

David J. Litvak<\/b> is a prairie refugee from the North End of Winnipeg who is a freelance writer and publicist, and a mashgiach at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. His articles have been published in the <\/i>Forward, <\/i>Globe and Mail and <\/i>Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His website is cascadiapublicity.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The move of Omnitsky Kosher to Fraser Street has been a positive one overall, says owner Richard Wood. (photo by\u00a0 David J. Litvak) Omnitsky Kosher recently reopened on Fraser Street in East Vancouver. Forced to move from its Oak and 41st location because of redevelopment, the deli\u2019s owner, Richard Wood, took advantage of the situation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[218,1225,24166,6068,22832,9795],"class_list":["post-47124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-judaism","tag-kashrut","tag-omnitsky-kosher","tag-restaurants","tag-richard-wood","tag-takeout"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}