Tag: Larry Gontovnick

New leadership at the JCCV

Following 12 years as president of the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria (JCCV), with many accomplishments to his credit, Larry Gontovnick will hand over the reins of the organization to Deborah Bricks at the JCCV’s annual general meeting in December.

A charitable nonprofit, the JCCV houses a deli, gift shop and library. It is also home to the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island, PJ Library, Jewish Family Services and Kolot Mayim Reform Temple. Additionally, it provides a location for Bema Productions, the Victoria Jewish theatre, to hold its auditions and rehearsals, and it hosts other Jewish organizations, such as Hadassah-WIZO and Camp Miriam, for meetings and events. Among the activities the JCCV organizes are webinars with guest speakers, a virtual Jewish conversation café, drop-in mahjong, a book club and Israeli dance.

photo - After 12 years at the helm of the Victoria Jewish Community Centre, Larry Gontovnick is handing over the reins to Deborah Bricks
After 12 years at the helm of the Victoria Jewish Community Centre, Larry Gontovnick is handing over the reins to Deborah Bricks. (photo from Larry Gontovnick)

Gontovnick, by far the longest-serving president of the JCCV since its founding in 1989, oversaw the raising of grant monies to renovate the centre’s kitchen, revitalize the interior and exterior of the building, enhance its security system and improve its audio-visual system.

The technical side of operations witnessed the redesign of the JCCV website, which now offers an online calendar and a PayPal option for donations and membership dues. A newsletter was implemented for communications with members and friends, and a payment device was installed at the centre for purchases.

“I am most proud of maintaining the warm, friendly and welcoming environment of the deli and centre, and maintaining this important facility for the Jewish community in Victoria,” Gontovnick told the Independent about his time running the JCCV. “I am very thankful for the wonderful staff and volunteers at the centre and the board members, who have all been a great pleasure to work with.

“I will now turn my attention to three beautiful grandchildren and being the best zayde I can be. My wife and I will continue our travels, as well as thoroughly enjoy living in one of the most beautiful places on earth.”

A notable and ongoing program started under Gontovnick’s leadership is the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival (VIJFF), now in its 11th year.  Bricks is the current director of the VIJFF.

“I am so pleased that Deborah, a current board member and director of the VIJFF, will be standing for president at the upcoming AGM,” said Gontovnick, who believes the energy and enthusiasm he brought to the centre will be furthered by his successor.  

An event planner with deep roots in Jewish culture and community, Bricks has been designing and orchestrating arts and culture events – music, cinema and literature – through Deborah B Event Management, both in Toronto and, for the past 10 years, in Victoria. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto in religious and cinema studies and a master’s in media and communications from the New School for Social Research in New York.

“The JCCV president role – a combination of strategic direction, community building and operational oversight – is especially important now,” Bricks said. “JCCV provides a home, a makom [place], for programs, services and events important to communities of Canadian Jews and our culture, such as the Lox, Stock & Bagel Deli, loved by community.

“And there are untapped directions for new, meaningful programs, services and events that build community among Jews in Victoria, seniors and families alike, and with our neighbours in Canada.”

As part of her community-building goals, Bricks is already engaging younger Victoria-area Jews from her own network to join the JCCV and its board, as well as older community members, who may enjoy the experience of Jewish community via the JCCV.

Part of her vision as president, Bricks said, is to direct a new strategic plan for the JCCV that eventually transforms it (i.e., its constitution) into a Jewish community arts and culture centre. As a formal arts organization, the centre could access more local, provincial, federal and other grants.

photo - Deborah Bricks will be both president of the JCCV and director of the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival
Deborah Bricks will be both president of the JCCV and director of the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival. (photo from Deborah Bricks)

Bricks told the Independent that she sees the JCCV “serving up something Jewish-ish for everyone.”

While president, Bricks will continue as director of VIJFF, leading its planning, film curation and event strategy.

“As Victoria’s only Jewish cultural festival, we try to spotlight Canadian-Jewish filmmaking and filmmakers,” Bricks said. “This year, we have three films by Canadians, ranging from stories about a Franco-Moroccan mother and son, about Yiddish in Sweden, and about the early Jewish immigrant experience in Montreal.” 

Also playing will be Sabbath Queen, which follows the story of Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, the heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis who became a drag queen and the founder of Lab/Shul, an experimental “God-optional” congregation based in New York. It will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Sandi DuBowski (via Zoom) and Victoria drag king Dublin Tendre.

This year’s festival runs Oct. 18-23 and features seven film events at the Vic Theatre. For more information, visit vijff.ca. 

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Victoria deli’s new chef

Lox Stock and Bagel’s new chef Lina Fainblum, left, and recently retired chef of 33 years Rose Carr, who will still be involved with the deli’s operations. (photo by Sam Margolis)

In June, Lox, Stock and Bagel deli at the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria was in something of a … well … pickle. A replacement needed to be found for Rose Carr, who had been overseeing the kitchen for 33 years, nearly the entirety of the deli’s existence, and about whom there are not enough superlatives to express her significance to both the local community and the customers the eatery serves.

Confronted with having to search for another chef, the JCCV advertised the vacancy. Many people applied but there was not a good fit, that is, a person who could fully appreciate the haimish (homelike) atmosphere of the deli and commit to staying in the position long term. The deli was forced to close.

Fortunately, the despair loyal patrons had to endure was short-lived, as Lina Fainblum, a member of the community and someone who loves cooking, came along.

“Everyone was thrilled,” said Larry Gontovnick, president of the JCCV. Lox, Stock and Bagel reopened in October, with a Wednesday to Friday schedule. Within three weeks, the deli resumed its original Tuesday to Friday hours.

“From looking pretty bad, it is going to what we wanted,” said Carr, who remains a beloved fixture at Lox, Stock and Bagel. “Lina is a mini miracle. Our prayers were answered.”

Although she has cut down her work in the kitchen, Carr is still on the board of the JCCV and runs the deli. The social aspect of the deli is very important, Gontovnick noted and, in this regard, Carr, who is also known as “Grandma Rose,” is in a class of her own.

“I’m in my third generation at the deli,” she said. “When I started here, people were bringing their little ones. Grandma Rose goes crazy when infants come in. And these kids grow up and come back and then bring in their little ones.

“We also have a lot of seniors who come in and they are treated with respect because we are all seniors,” she added.

When Carr arrived from Los Angeles in 1990, the JCCV at 3636 Shelbourne St. in Victoria’s Cedar Hill neighbourhood was in its fledgling stages, having just opened in June 1988. She introduced herself and has continued in her efforts to bring New York and Los Angeles deli food to Vancouver Islanders ever since.

At that time, the deli was located in a space at the centre that could only accommodate 15 people. Since then, it has expanded to seating 60 and, as Carr says, “many a day, we are full.”

Word of the wonderful dishes – such as knishes and kugel – spread shortly after the deli originally opened more than three decades ago. On one occasion, a group of firefighters came to test the exits of the JCCV. They wound up staying for lunch and told their friends and family, who were also eager to have a delicious and nearby nosh.

“It was recognized fairly early on that the customer base was non-Jews who lived in the area, enjoyed Jewish food and saw this as an affordable offering,” said Gontovnick. “It continues to this day. Most of our clients are non-Jewish. They love the place, the volunteers, the affordability and the quality of the food. It’s second to none. We have had a steady clientele. People come three or four times a week to eat.”

“People love us. They feel at home, they start clearing tables and they have been very generous with donations. They have been incredible accepting us as being Jewish.” added Carr. “After the Hamas attack, people whom we didn’t know would come into the JCC. They didn’t know anyone Jewish but would come to say they were praying for us. We are very well known and well liked in the community.”

As did many other establishments, Lox, Stock and Bagel faced challenges when COVID-19 struck in March 2020. The JCCV, at the time, decided to switch to takeout via the side door of the building. When the weather was balmy, they would set up tables outside.

One lasting result of the pandemic at the deli was the removal of a partition at the JCCV to open up more space and allow people to dine at tables further apart from one another.

Lox, Stock and Bagel, which received its name following a contest in the mid-1990s, serves all the standards one might expect at delis in much larger metropolitan areas: blintzes, matzah ball soup, pastrami on rye, jumbo hot dogs, pickled herring and gefilte fish. For dessert, there is the “Better Than Sex Chocolate Cake,” a favourite at the deli and at local fairs and, according to numerous sources, an item that lives up to its billing.

Lox, Stock and Bagel is open Tuesday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. From Dec. 5 to 15, it will be the site of Latke Mania. Hundreds of latkes will be prepared on several fryers for all those in the community to have a chance to mark Hanukkah with the traditional savoury treat.

“Our motto is: everyone’s welcome,” said Gontovnick. “This is nice place to come and just have a Jewish experience.”

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.