All in the family at Mister Brisket
Hank Kornblut, "Mr. Brisket" Sanford Herskovitz and Kelly Kornblut. Photo by Sarah Wean.
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Cleveland Heights is full of best-kept secrets and Mister Brisket--a purveyor of custom meat, poultry, and seafood on South Taylor Road--pretty much tops the list.
Combine a national cult following for succulent, baked corned beef, with a fairly new retail outlet for some of the best deli sandwiches around, and you’ve got the makings of a local independent business that does more than its fair share to keep the Heights unique and sustainable.
Mister Brisket has been selling beef brisket, among other things, for 32 years out of a Cleveland Heights storefront near Cedar Road. Sanford Herskovitz, who is Mr. Brisket, and his stepson Hank Kornblut run the business from small desks next to the sunny front window of the store. Started as a home-delivery butcher service for the East Side’s Jewish community, Mister Brisket tweaked its business model three years ago to accommodate the changing tastes and purchasing habits of 21st-century customers. “We embraced change when we decided to sell out of the storefront,” says Kornblut, a former high school wrestling coach who grew up in University Heights.
What changed? Now anyone can walk into the shop and order from an enormous array of terrific made-to-order deli sandwiches. The proprietors encourage people to stop in anytime, including Sundays afternoons. Customers can even view the deli menu and butcher offerings on the Web site and place their orders before they come in.
The strategy of opening a storefront and creating an Internet presence, while continuing a successful home delivery and wholesale business, seems to be paying off. The merchant's national mail order business is growing, and the staff use mass marketing e-mails, Facebook, word of mouth, and a Web site to sell to an increasingly Internet-savvy clientele.
Kelly Kornblut, Hank’s wife, likes the change. She works the counter and greets everyone who comes in with an easy, charming style. “I love being one-on-one with the customer,” she says. But good service is only part of the equation. Kornblut says their product is top quality and it will always be thus. “Why are we still in business? We have to be about having the very best.”
What does the future hold for Mister Brisket? Even though the neighborhood’s fortunes have been variable over the years, Herskovitz intends to stay put and continue to grow the business. Along with Quintana’s Barber and Dream Spa and a host of other unique anchor businesses including the soon-to-be-opened Melt restaurant, Mister Brisket--with its retro vibe and exceptional service--keeps the Cedar-Taylor corner humming along.
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Sarah Wean is a community volunteer.