When I first entertained entering this business, I thought about the ways I could revolutionize the kosher deli business that had remained unchanged since the 1920’s. And I did! I was a 24 year-old idealistic kid from Queens County in New York City and am now entering my 76th year on this earth.
Now bent by age and too many 100+ hours work weeks I need to enlist the help of others. Ira Bernstein, CPA, a Long Island native and my first cousin has relocated from Las Vegas, Nevada (or as I like to call it, Lost Wages) to help me navigate the future of Ben’s.
With an accountant’s eye on finances—will help to reduce redundancies and look for ways to have greater efficiency through a more robust point of sale system as well as tightening up our cost controls. Ira will join me, our COO Todd Silverstein, VP Gilah Salzano and my daughter Jaime Dragoon Passy in charting the future. I am still optimistic for the future of Ben’s. The entire executive management team is bullish on our future.
I hope all our employees, patrons and vendors realize that it was no easy task to be in business for over 51 years with the same family ownership. It took perseverance to get through all the vagaries of the years whether it was an 18% interest rate during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the financial collapse of 2007/2008 and the once in a lifetime Pandemic. While we survived, many of my fellow kosher deli owners did not and that’s sad.
We are only as strong as our weakest link and we are now considered a rare breed when once kosher delis dotted the highways and byways, boroughs, and villages of metro New York.
So, to all of you — vendors, patrons, and employees — thank you for joining me on this journey … thank you for your continuing support.
See you at the Deli!
Ronald Dragoon
