Kosher Offerings at Wheaton Costco Cause for Celebration, Concern in Jewish Community

The Costco that opened earlier this month at the Wheaton mall includes a kosher dairy bakery, something that Kemp Mill resident Phil Lehman worked for years to bring about.

Lehman contacted 22 local synagogues in the area, asking members of the congregations to send letters of support, Washington Jewish Week reported in 2012.

Rhonda Lehman, his daughter-in-law, who also lives in Kemp Mill, came to the pre-opening celebration at Costco on April 9.

The kosher bakery "changes the way people are going to entertain," she said.

Costco is a natural fit for the Jewish community because large families can buy in bulk, said Rabbi Yitzchak Hanoka of OK Kosher Certification, the organization that approves and monitors Costco's kosher selections at stores nationwide. 

What makes Costco's bakery different from the other kosher bakeries in the area is that it is dairy, instead of pareve. Pareve baked goods, because they are prepared without dairy or meat, can then be eaten at a meal with either dairy or meat, under kosher guidelines.

Following the same rules, Costco's dairy baked goods cannot be eaten at meals with meat, but its bakery is the only place nearby where you'll be able to find a kosher cheesecake.

Kemp Mill residents and businesses are excited about the bakery and Costco's other kosher offerings, but also wary of the new competiton in town.

Josh Katz, who runs Ben Yehuda Café and Pizzeria in the Kemp Mill Shopping Center, expressed some of his concerns in an email message to a Kemp Mill list-serve the day before Costco officially opened:

"I have a Costco membership myself, and myself or my manager makes a trip there almost every week. However, Costco moving in to Wheaton could make a huge negative impact on many of our locally owned "mom and pop" businesses. While I don't believe that Costco is competition for Ben Yehuda (I don't consider frozen pizza to be competition), it could potentially hurt other businesses such as Shalom's, Kosher Mart, the Candy Man, and Pastry Oven (yes I know Costco's bakery will be dairy).

Please remember that these establishments employee many people from our community, both Jewish and Non Jewish and supporting these businesses support our community as a whole. Supporting Costco will support some community in Washington State. If Costco takes away a significant amount of business from these stores many of these locals could lose their jobs.

Again, I'm not saying that people shouldn't shop there. I have nothing against Costco and shop there myself. Just please consider the impact you can have on local businesses when you do.

What do you think the impact of the Wheaton Costco will be on the kosher businesses in the Kemp Mill area? Tell us in the comments.