It’s a supermarket, a restaurant, a pharmacy, a pizzeria, a bakery and a Judaica store: KC Market in Boynton Beach is becoming a one-stop shop for a community desperately in need of kosher food and Jewish products.
At 28,000 square feet of retail space, it’s one of the largest kosher markets in Florida. The owners took over a former Publix at Military Trail and Woolbright Road and opened late last month, filling the store with kosher wines, meats, cheeses and snacks, as well as dips, salads and soups made fresh each day at their Dania Beach commercial kitchen.
KC, which stands for “Kosher Central,” also has an 11,000-square-foot market in Hollywood and plans to open a third site in the coming months in Hallandale Beach, said Ian Kass, Boynton Beach store manager.
“We are mimicking the Hollywood store, but this store is much bigger,” Kass said. He pointed to the selection of hundreds of kosher wines, stacked six levels high, and 15 freezers full of kosher ice cream (the Hollywood store has six).
The Jewish community in Boynton Beach and neighboring areas has been growing rapidly and lacked a kosher market. Residents had to travel to stores in Delray Beach and Boca Raton for the nearest fully kosher and kosher-style groceries. Central Palm Beach County residents also could shop at large chains such as Publix and Winn-Dixie, which have small kosher sections but no kosher butchers on-site, said Rabbi Levi Feigelstock, executive director of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, which certifies restaurants and markets that adhere to Jewish kosher laws and has certified KC Market.
Kosher laws stem from the biblical books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy and were expanded on in later rabbinical teachings. Only certain animals may be eaten, such as cows, sheep and chicken, and there are detailed rules about how they can be killed. Fruits and vegetables must be free of bugs; meat and dairy cannot be eaten together, and their utensils must be separate, too.
Jewish residents moving to the Boynton Beach area do not all abide by these kosher laws; the observant are only a small percentage, less than 2%, according to a 2018 survey by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. Still, that survey showed enormous Jewish growth in Greater Boynton: a 32% increase, to 90,000 Jewish families, over the previous 10 years, said Michael Hoffman, the Jewish Federation’s president and chief executive officer.
“The population has increased even more since then, since COVID and lots of migration during that time,” Hoffman said. “We are in the middle of updating that data.”
Whether they are religious or not, customers visiting the store on a recent day said they relished shopping for KC’s variety of products that are rarely seen in traditional South Florida supermarkets, such as schmaltz, which is rendered poultry fat used in Eastern European cooking, and gluten-free bourekas, a Sephardic Jewish pastry filled with meat, cheese or vegetables.
Customer David Mermelstein of Boynton Beach said he has been visiting the store a few times a week since it opened. On a recent day, he was stocking up on spreads and salads for an upcoming gathering at his synagogue.
“The Jewish community here is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “A store like this is going to attract more young people to Boynton Beach.”
Kass said he and his 50 employees are learning the culinary needs of Boynton Beach’s Jewish community, which he said favors Eastern European comfort foods, such as chopped liver, brisket and knishes. He said KC’s Hollywood clientele is heavily Israeli with Middle Eastern roots and prefer lighter fare, with staples such as lamb, chickpeas, lentils and dried fruits.
Customer Barbara Malkin of Boynton Beach said she is glad her nearby KC has plenty of Eastern European specialties. She and her husband, Sam, looked over the chopped liver offerings and remembered how their families made the traditional rich and cholesterol-inducing schmear.
“I don’t like Israeli food so I’m loving this,” she said. She filled her cart with minestrone soup, eggplant in tomato sauce, stuffed cabbage, vegetarian chopped liver and meatballs.
The store is also stocking up for Passover, when observant Jews refrain from bread products and eat specially marked foods. A big display promoted co*ke and Diet co*ke with yellow caps that signify they can be drunk during the holiday.
Still to come are two on-site restaurants, one serving meat dishes and the other dairy meals, since observant Jews keep these foods separate. Also on the way are an on-site pharmacy and an outpost of Cohen’s Judaica, which has a shop in Boca Raton.
Kass said he’s been glad to see an assortment of people shopping in the store, including Jews who don’t keep kosher but want to take a look at new products. Orthodox Jews like Kass see eating kosher food as a mitzvah, or commandment from God, and believe sharing their kosher lifestyle is also a good deed.
“We are bringing kosher food to people who don’t normally eat kosher food,” he said. “This is one of the greatest mitzvahs.”
KC Market is at 3775 Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach.Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. Visit Facebook.com/KCMarketFL or call 561-396-9711.
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