David Magerman — president and founder of the Kohelet Foundation — recently added more responsibilities to his already-packed agenda as Jewish day school champion, philanthropist and restaurateur: He became the CEO of Six Points Restaurant Group.
“Up until now, I have always been a silent partner (or at least as silent as I know how to be),” Magerman said. “In the middle of August, I took over as CEO for the first time, and all of the changes since then have been at my direction.”
Those changes have been summarized in a statement Magerman recently sent out.
First of all, the catering and meal drop-off arm of Six Points — Six Points Kosher Events — has been shuttered.
“It is clear to me that, if anything, people felt pressured to use Six Points for events, even though there were cheaper options,” Magerman wrote. “The last thing I want is for people to waste money out of a sense of obligation to a local business. We aren’t interested in replicating what exists elsewhere, and there wasn’t enough demand for the high-end product we were offering. (Frankly, we also didn’t always do a great job.)”
Secondly, C&R Kitchen — which evolved out of the game-changing kosher restaurant Citron & Rose — has been closed.
“We are going to repurpose that lower level as dairy and pareve kitchen space for the Dairy Café,” Magerman said, acknowledging that the latter has been the subject of patron complaints about slow and disorganized service.
“I hired Tarah Freestone to be the new general manager of restaurants, and she has been steering the Dairy to address the completely valid service complaints,” Magerman said. “She has broad experience in managing restaurants like the Dairy, and she very quickly improved the customer experience there.”
The Dairy Café will be complemented by the Dairy Express, also at 370 Montgomery Ave., which will be “a place to pick up large pizza orders, to sit down for a quick slice of pizza, or to sample our baked goods,” Magerman said. “Think of it as a reincarnation of Six Points Bakery, but with pizza, too. If you want ambiance and selection, you should still go to the Dairy Café. If you want simplicity and speed, the Dairy Express is where you should go.”
Freestone will also lend her professional guidance to the opening of C&R Tavern and Market in the former New Tavern restaurant at 261 Montgomery Ave.
“All hands are on-deck for the design, construction and development of the new C&R Tavern and Market,” Magerman said. “Instead of reusing the interior of the old New Tavern Restaurant, we are updating the entire building, creating a comfortable tavern feel.”
The C&R Market will have a separate entrance, he explained, and will stock kosher products “only available in Lakewood, Brooklyn and beyond.”
Contact: lspikol@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0747
