TORONTO — The retail kosher food industry in Toronto is about to experience a shakeup.

Savours Kosher Market ULC, a U.S.-based corporation that operates kosher supermarkets under a variety of names along the Eastern Seaboard, is entering the Toronto market. Savours has acquired the assets of Hartmans Fine Kosher Foods after the longstanding Toronto shopping destination went into receivership.

Savours will continue to do business in the same locations on Bathurst Street under the name Savours Kosher Market, but with an enhanced shopping experience for the kosher consumer, said Savours founder and chair Henry Kauftheil.

In addition, Savours is leasing a vacant storefront next door to the north Bathurst location and will renovate the building to create a store modelled on its successful U.S. outlets, Kauftheil said. 

That store is expected to open before Passover next year, and there are plans for yet another Savours store in the Toronto area in the near future, he said.

In the meantime, consumers can expect “a high-end experience, with fair pricing, a high level of kashrut and customer service that can’t be beat,” Kauftheil. “We have created an experience so that people actually love shopping [in our stores].”

The Kurtz family, which operated Hartmans for the past six years, will be involved in the new enterprise and run the Hartmans Signature meats and deli section of the store, Kauftheil said

Kauftheil is involved in more than 10 glatt kosher supermarkets in the United States, either through Savours or with partners in other ventures. He is founder and chair of Gourmet Glatt, with two locations in New York and with stores expected to open soon in New York and New Jersey. He is founder and chair of Evergreen Kosher Market, operating in the same two states. And he holds a controlling interest in SuperFresh, an Israeli kosher “super-mini-market chain” consisting of six stores, but with more expected.

“The success of our model is based on quality, choice, value and outstanding service. These are the hallmarks of a quality kosher experience which our customers enjoy,” he said in a news release. 

In a phone interview, Kauftheil said his “buying power” and “ability to make deals” allows his stores to offer competitive prices. His research showed Toronto, with 200,000 Jews, would present a potential venue for expansion. He learned of the Kurtz’s financial difficulties and had been involved with them over the last seven or eight months.

He acquired the assets from the receiver, describing the situation “like a guillotine over their heads.”

Savours acquired Hartmans’ equipment and other assets, including the business name and goodwill, said receiver Brahm Rosen, of Rosen Goldberg Inc. “It happened relatively quickly, within one week of the appointment of a receiver,” Rosen said.

The moves came after Hartmans was unable to meet the demands of its creditors. Secured creditors asked for the receiver to step in and manage the business until a new buyer could be found.

“The indebtedness was quite significant – several million dollars,” said Rosen. “They have been bleeding money for some time.”

Rosen operated the business for about a week to ensure it remained a going concern and “to keep the goodwill going.”

In a statement, Jeffrey Kurtz said “the Kurtz family is very pleased about the transformation from Hartmans to Savours and our ongoing role in the new company. We are grateful that when Hartmans experienced financial difficulties, Mr. Kauftheil stepped in with financial assistance. The legal process of receivership allowed Savours to acquire Hartmans, which still remains responsible for its own liabilities that we are dealing with in a spirit of fairness to all concerned.”

Kauftheil said he expects to create new relationships with existing vendors and is “looking very favourably at the current staff.” There will be room for more personnel as the business “builds out,” he said.