Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Mill Basin Kosher Deli out to prove fast food businesses' lower prices don't mean more food
He's saving kosher delis - slice by slice.
Mill Basin Kosher Deli owner Mark Schachner is waging a one-man war against fast food chain restaurants - determined to debunk the myth they're better bargains than his traditional kosher deli.
"Meat to meat and french fry to french fry, we're 100% cheaper," said Schachner, 57, who sent out secret shoppers to order from fast food joints to measure the weight of fries, burgers, hot dogs and the meat in sandwiches.
"I told my guys there's a shrinkage factor, [so] you got to do it when it's hot."
Just as Schachner predicted, the deli's hot dogs, fries, turkey and burgers are cheaper by the pound than what's sold at fast food joints like Subway, Nathan's and McDonald's - even if as individual items they're more expensive.
His covert buyers compared the $8.95 Mill Basin Deli burger, packed with .57 pounds of kosher beef, to a $4.29 Whopper from Burger King, which weighs only .18 pounds - a price-per-pound saving of $8.13.
"It's hard to compete with the marketing power and the brainwashing ability of the large corporations," Schachner said, noting his 36-year-old shop is one of the few remaining kosher delis left in the borough.
"You have to compare apples to apples," he continued. "I sell a hot dog for $2.99 and Nathan's sells it for $2.99 so it's the same price, but Nathan's is a 2-ounce dog and mine is 4 ounces. It's not a fair comparison."
Rasaan Bonair, 22, who has worked at the Avenue T kosher deli for nine years, throughout high school and college, was one of two secret shoppers who traveled along Flatbush Ave., ordering food and weighing it in the store.
"Customers always complain our food's too expensive," said Bonair, who got some strange looks as he pried turkey from rolls and wieners from buns.
"But people are being fooled - they really think they're getting more for less, but they're not putting the meat on the scale."
As for french fries, Schachner sells .79 pounds of freshly cut Idaho potatoes for $3.99 a serving - seemingly expensive when compared to McDonald's $1 small fries. But a small fries at Mickey D's only gets you .14 pounds of fries, Schachner found - a price-per-pound saving of $2.09.
For their part, fast food joints scoffed at Schachner's survey, insisting their menus were well-liked by all. "That's why [customers] keep coming back for more," said Jennifer Nagy, New York marketing manager for McDonald's.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/06/08/2010-06-08_deli_delivers_real_deal_takes_fight_to_fast_food_biz.html#ixzz0qINPRbKA
Mill Basin Kosher Deli owner Mark Schachner is waging a one-man war against fast food chain restaurants - determined to debunk the myth they're better bargains than his traditional kosher deli.
"Meat to meat and french fry to french fry, we're 100% cheaper," said Schachner, 57, who sent out secret shoppers to order from fast food joints to measure the weight of fries, burgers, hot dogs and the meat in sandwiches.
"I told my guys there's a shrinkage factor, [so] you got to do it when it's hot."
Just as Schachner predicted, the deli's hot dogs, fries, turkey and burgers are cheaper by the pound than what's sold at fast food joints like Subway, Nathan's and McDonald's - even if as individual items they're more expensive.
His covert buyers compared the $8.95 Mill Basin Deli burger, packed with .57 pounds of kosher beef, to a $4.29 Whopper from Burger King, which weighs only .18 pounds - a price-per-pound saving of $8.13.
"It's hard to compete with the marketing power and the brainwashing ability of the large corporations," Schachner said, noting his 36-year-old shop is one of the few remaining kosher delis left in the borough.
"You have to compare apples to apples," he continued. "I sell a hot dog for $2.99 and Nathan's sells it for $2.99 so it's the same price, but Nathan's is a 2-ounce dog and mine is 4 ounces. It's not a fair comparison."
Rasaan Bonair, 22, who has worked at the Avenue T kosher deli for nine years, throughout high school and college, was one of two secret shoppers who traveled along Flatbush Ave., ordering food and weighing it in the store.
"Customers always complain our food's too expensive," said Bonair, who got some strange looks as he pried turkey from rolls and wieners from buns.
"But people are being fooled - they really think they're getting more for less, but they're not putting the meat on the scale."
As for french fries, Schachner sells .79 pounds of freshly cut Idaho potatoes for $3.99 a serving - seemingly expensive when compared to McDonald's $1 small fries. But a small fries at Mickey D's only gets you .14 pounds of fries, Schachner found - a price-per-pound saving of $2.09.
For their part, fast food joints scoffed at Schachner's survey, insisting their menus were well-liked by all. "That's why [customers] keep coming back for more," said Jennifer Nagy, New York marketing manager for McDonald's.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/06/08/2010-06-08_deli_delivers_real_deal_takes_fight_to_fast_food_biz.html#ixzz0qINPRbKA
Comments:
Anyone know if this place actually is kosher, i.e. has a hashgacha?
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Comment Credit ---This article posted by 
: June 10, 2010 2:07 PM
: June 10, 2010 2:07 PM
