All Things Kosher Delivered To Your Front Door

During the beginning phases of the pandemic, we recall many daily life guidelines, such as indoor dining restrictions in restaurants. Many of us succumbed to the emotion of languishing, which Adam Grant (New York Times, 4/19/21) described as “a sense of stagnation and emptiness … as if you are muddling through your days.” Still, we managed to adjust to our new circumstances, with the domestic kitchen becoming the epicenter of hearth and home, supported by grocery delivery as the new normal.

Rebecca Grafstein, a New York City and Bridgehampton resident whose family established roots on the East End some 22 years ago, refused to become stymied by COVID-19 limitations. Instead, she pivoted to take this new way of life to heart. As a former lawyer with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, she was quite accustomed to challenging assignments and hard work.

One day, Grafstein took on just an ordinary endeavor: She wanted to make a special dinner for her family. They requested lamb chops. What began as a simple routine pleasure, evolved as a personal challenge as she went on a quest for kosher lamb chops in her Upper East Side neighborhood. She found there was a complete void as her local kosher butcher was out of stock. Undeterred, she continued her pursuit of this grocery item well outside the realm of her neighborhood, across the expanse of Central Park.

Grafstein’s search proved successful, but at a cost of time and travel. In the moment when she finally discovered a vendor for her main menu item, she also had an epiphany. She realized that gathering food for dinner, including foods specially designated as certified kosher, should be more easily accessible.

It was this thought that conjured memories of a tale from her childhood. Grafstein was raised in Winnipeg, Canada. As most families do, her family has its own story, too. She explains: “In the 1930s and ’40s there was, at that time, a kosher butcher in Winnipeg. But my grandparents lived in a tiny prairie farming town called Lundar, Manitoba, about 100 miles away. My grandfather owned the town’s general store, serving the local population, which was entirely of Icelandic descent. Apart from my grandparents, there was no call for kosher meat in Lundar! So, the family had the Winnipeg kosher butcher send packages of meat for their family to Lundar by the Canadian National Railroad.”

Therefore, Grafstein was certainly motivated to initiate change. After raising her three boys into adulthood and retiring from her legal career, Grafstein determined that she had the time and energy to devote to rectifying a challenging situation for others. In doing so, she founded and created a company, on her own, with the idea of bringing a variety of kosher foods, quite literally, to the doorsteps of homes for other families throughout the whole country, starting with New York, and of course, the Hamptons.

On Grafstein’s pandemic agenda was the birth, so to speak, of another kind: Kosherkart. She formed Kosherkart by taking herself on a personal quest to seek and curate optimal kosher food selections, both specialty and staple grocery items, from reputable vendors and outlets. She hired a small fleet of vans to pick up and deliver, she rented a warehouse in Queens for storage, and she hired two full-time dedicated employees to begin turning her idea into reality. Their experience encapsulates backgrounds from the worlds of kosher food manufacturing and distribution as well as ecommerce and logistics.

As CEO, Grafstein’s vision is constantly expanding. While the company’s current operations are focused on grocery delivery, its mission has evolved beyond just food and beverage to a single digital marketplace for specialized retail and services. Thus, Grafstein confides, “The whole idea of making it easy and convenient for anyone, especially in underserved areas, to have access to the best kosher retail and lifestyle services is the central idea of what I’m trying to build with Kosherkart. Maybe it’s coming from ancestral memories of Lundar!”

Grafstein laments, even now in 2022, that many people in our country have limited access to kosher food options. She notes: “I regularly get emails from people in places you would not expect, like Alaska or New Mexico, asking if we can ship to them. The answer is that we are raising the capital to scale to make deliveries in major cities nationally. As we scale, we will also implement shipping from strategic locations to all the underserved areas nationwide.”

Since Kosherkart’s inception, Grafstein has secured products from scores of kosher food manufacturers and retailers, has sold to hundreds of customers, and has been in operation over two years. During this time, Grafstein has been thrilled to discover that her consumer base is much broader than simply those who prefer kosher foods. The many menu options in Kosherkart support those who are lactose intolerant, gluten free, vegan and those who follow halal. The chicken nuggets, for example, do not include cheese, so they help those customers who are lactose intolerant.

Additionally, Kosherkart satisfies summer entertaining needs. Many customers work from home and have little time to prepare complicated dishes for weekend guests and extended family members. Many of Kosherkart’s meats and poultry are available as marinated, which makes them barbecue set. Kosherkart also offers an array of ready-to-serve prepared foods, such as vegetable stir fry, cous-cous, cole slaw, carrot salad, egg salad, tuna salad, beet salad, avocado salad, Moroccan potato salad, red cabbage salad, cucumber salad, as well as hummus and tahini. Of course, there is also braided challah bread.

“We used to service the Hamptons with one van every Tuesday,” Grafstein said. “Now, our needs have doubled. In order to satisfy our increased demand, we currently have a van making Hamptons deliveries every Tuesday and Thursday.

“Summer is a time to celebrate outdoor living and dining,” she added. “I am so happy people are making use of our marinated meats and poultry as well as our prepared foods when they entertain. I’m thrilled our brand has enhanced the summertime lifestyle.”

As Kosherkart is indeed a birth of another sort, Grafstein has yet to attach a fee to her services. To date, there is no delivery, subscription or service fee connected to her sourcing and/or delivery. However, since the intention is to be a sort of Amazon for kosher retail and services, Grafstein’s business model may yet be in its infancy.

Baby steps lead to marathons. The deliberate step-by-step development of Kosherkart has led to a successful incubation period. After the initial objective is reached to penetrate all of New York, expanding Kosherkart to major markets throughout the country is the next goal. Then, Grafstein’s dream is to extend its purview to sourcing that includes services such as advice and recommendations for trips and recreation to become a key lifestyle brand. Grafstein would love to see Kosherkart spread its wings to fly anyone, anywhere.

In addition to nurturing the business side of Kosherkart, Grafstein is determined to give back to the community. Thus far, she donates grocery items to the food pantry of Met Council, a nonprofit organization which serves people in need throughout New York City and the surrounding areas.

All of this proves one thing, Grafstein certainly has had little time for languishing during this pandemic. She has channeled the renewed celebrity status of the at-home kitchen into her entrepreneurial work ethic to do something about it. Her celebration of outdoor summer living, as well as her charitable concern, is nothing less than inspirational. Her Canadian grandparents would be ever so proud, too.

To learn more, visit kosherkart.com.