Everybody bemoans the state of Kosher options in Chicagoland, and while some recent entries into the market have improved things over the last three years, the number eatery and grocer options and locations doesn’t come close to making life comfortable for those who want to keep kosher in and out of their homes. It falls waaay short of the level needed to convince those on the fence to continue keeping kosher by giving them more, quality options.
There’s never really been a good tool to communicate the problems, successes and opportunities in the kosher market here, but Neil Rosenbaum has been assessing the quality of kosher communities for some time now for several east coast communities. He’s introduced his online survey for Chicago. Not a perfect assessment- the ratings tend to be low, which either reflects the general negative bias of the sample, the lack of randomness of that sample or the general poor quality of the establishments.
Looking at his completed survey for DC, one thing I see missing is some summary of the overall health and potential for the kosher market, and thats something that we need, since we face overcentralization of kosher establishments, nominal options in some places and nothing in others. There’s also an inherent flaw in the self selecting sampling method that therefore isn’t going to reflect the Jewish populaiton overall. There’s nothing about the domination of cRc of the supervision in town, giving it a monopoly that invariably benefits the interests of existing merchants over the needs of consumers.
But still, its a start, so take the survey!
The results of the Chicago area kosher survey are now available! Check out the final report at our web site: www.kosher-community-surveys.com . See which establishments are “best-in-kosher-Chicago”!
The Chicago survey is back!
Now in its second year, we need your opinions of the Chicago area’s kosher stores, restaurants and bakeries! Check it out at chicago.kosher-community-surveys.com.