After years of careful planning, delays and anticipation, House of Kosher has officially launched the soft opening of its new in-house dairy café, marking a transformative milestone for the beloved Philadelphia kosher grocery.
Shani Josefovits, marketing manager and daughter of HOK owners Rabbi Shloime and Rivky Isaacson, shared the vision behind the new space.
“We have been working on creating a bakery café experience for the past few years. It’s taken longer than we anticipated, but now it’s actually coming to fruition,” Josefovits said.
Until now, HOK had operated a meat kitchen with takeout and a dairy area primarily serving pizza. With the expansion of the dairy café, HOK is completing a transformation.
The upgraded space will soon offer fresh paninis, falafel, sandwiches, ice cream, and even acaí bowls.
Currently in its soft opening phase, the new café is rolling out gradually, offering customers a taste of what’s to come.
“We’re starting with offerings, giving a sneak peek of what the items will be,” Josefovits said. “This is something that’s only growing. It’s not something that’s here for the short term.”
Since opening seven years ago, HOK has grown into a gourmet market with departments ranging from fresh produce to Cholov Yisroel products to full-service catering.
“We are offering our people more than just a grocery experience. We have all the kosher groceries. We have a produce section. We have an on-site butcher producing quality meats. We have a fish department. We have a sushi department. We have all the dry goods. You can get your shopping from A to Z here,” Josefovits said.
Josefovits recalled that the ability to buy fresh kosher meat in Philadelphia was once a challenge for local families.
“Before, we had to get our meat from New York or Lakewood, stick it in the freezer, and pull it out, hopefully in time for supper. It went from that to this whole new thing where we can pick up meat that we need for that night, go home and make it, which is something that really changed the way people cook and plan their meals here in Philly,” Josefovits said.
What began as a plan for a grocery store quickly evolved into something much larger. The Isaacsons recognized that Philadelphia lacked accessible kosher food options and decided to meet that need head-on.
“We’re providing a service to the community that they don’t have access to. We don’t have a lot of restaurants here. We don’t have places where you can just quickly pick up food,” Josefovitz said. “And that’s the need that the store is filling, aside from offering top-quality pizza and gourmet catering that people go crazy over. We’ve filled a lot of holes for the community.”
Josefovits described the store as a place where “conversations are had and people get together,” and said the new café will deepen that sense of community.
“People will be able to sit and enjoy, and get to connect with other people and feel at home. We’re a family at HOK, and people feel that,” Josefovits said.
At its core, HOK is a family-run operation, guided by a multigenerational commitment to making Jewish life more accessible. Josefovits traces that mission back to her grandparents, Rabbi Solomon and Rebbetzin Sarah Isaacson.
“They’ve been doing this for so many years, making it easier for people to keep kosher, easier to observe holidays,” Josefovits said.
Her parents have carried that mission forward, shaping HOK as both a business and a living expression of service.
She recalled powerful moments when new customers came in to observe Shabbat for the first time: buying candles, a hot plate, and kosher food all in one place.
“My parents didn’t open the store just to run a business,” Josefovits said. “They did it to make kosher living accessible and easy so people can say, ‘Oh, we can do it. We can finally do it.’”
Their philosophy is simple: always ask what more can be done.
“They’re always thinking, ‘What else can we offer? How can we make it easier for people to live a Jewish, kosher life?’ And you can really feel that,” Josefovits said.
This café is the latest response to growing community demand, particularly for dairy catering. What started as a modest pizza counter has evolved into something far more ambitious.
“We’re going to be able to expand what we can offer them. [HOK] has shifted because we thought we were going to be solely a supermarket. And it ended up becoming a huge part of the business,” Josefovits said.
To prepare for this next chapter, the team began adding tables in the dairy area.
“We’ve been slowly moving things around. … We have proper furniture coming to furnish the space, and it’ll be open every day the store is open, except for Passover,” Josefovits said.
With construction nearly complete and offerings expanding by the week, Josefovits is excited about what lies ahead.
“This is something that’s only growing,” she said. “It’s not something that’s here for a short term.”
Amy Hollander is a Philadelphia Jewish Exponent intern.