Israel – The recession and the high cost involved in the process of making a kitchen kosher for Pesach are expected to lead to a drop of 20% in the number of restaurants that plan to offer kosher-for-Passover dishes to their customers this upcoming holiday.
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Of the 7,300 restaurants in Israel, about 1,300 have a kashrut certificate and another 300 are defined kosher, though they operate without kashrut certification.
A survey conducted by the 2eat website revealed that this year many restaurants decided to forego the costly process – estimated at some $1,500 of making their venue leavened food-free.
In order to receive a Passover kashrut certificate, a restaurant must replace all of its serving dishes with glass dishes, remove all the leavened food kept at the place, make ovens and cooking pans kosher using a special burning process, employ 3-4 kashrut observers and increase the number of daily cleanups.
Wishing to save themselves the cost and logistical problems involved, many restaurants have decided to remain closed during the week-long holiday.
According to the survey, while 58% of the restaurants were kosher-for-Passover last year, only 38% plan to undergo the process this year. The restaurants that do become kosher will invest some NS 8 million ($2 million) in the process.
Despite the ban on selling leavened food in Pesach, the law was scarcely enforced last year. In order to supply the great demand of the secular public, many restaurants stock up bread ahead of the holiday, or bake it themselves.
Another Bogus Survey. The reason for the drop in restaurants deciding not to go “kosher for passover” is that this year there’s only 2 days of business. Even in Israel. Friday people don’t go out to eat and Tuesday is Erev Yom Tov again leaving you only with Sunday and Monday to be open for business which makes it a unfinancially sound investment.
Even in New York, there are very few — less than a dozen — restaurants that are kosher for Pesach. Israelis should enjoy!
The mashgichim have made it economically impossible to make restaurants kosher for pescach by adding chumrah on top of chumrah to cleaning out the chometz…I suspect that more yiddin will be eating at restaurants that are not kosher for pesach courtesy of their actions
The food at restaurants on Pesach is often much lower quality and much higher priced than during the rest of the year. Why eat out during Pesach?
First of all to correct a misconception; In Eretz Yisroel, Friday morning is the MOST popular time for the locals to eat out. The restaurants are jammed for breakfast and brunch. (they do not have Sunday, as we do).
Secondly, the open restaurants are REALLY for the tourists who travel and do not want to (or cannot) pack up food for their day trips, or are tired of hotel food or previously ordered catered meals.
The locals do not eat out, it is way too expensive on top of a very expensive chag, and don’t forget that most families have their own minhagim and chumras that negate eating at other peoples’ houses, let alone a restaurant on Pesach.
I do however, wish I could get a decent cup of coffee in Yerushalaim, somewhere, anywhere, over Pesach !!