Ensuring the new year gets off to a healthy start

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, greetings of good health for the coming year are exchanged with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. At Jandi’s, the Chasner family has been not only wishing good health for their customers, but promoting healthy lifestyles for over 26 years. Howard Chasner, Jandi’s owner, grew up working in the store which bears the condensed version of his parents names, Judy and Irving , J and I, hence JANDIS. What started in 1976 as a small 900 foot store in the Lincoln Shopping Center in Oceanside has morphed a few times over the years both in size, and customer base, resulting in a 6,000 foot modern, impeccably clean upscale market, complete with a Kosher eatery under rabbinical supervision.

“We were one of the three health food stores on Long Island. We sold granola, supplements, and tofu scooped out of a bucket. We had a two door refrigerator, and a two door freezer back then. We were the first store on Long Island to serve wheat grass. Now we are the largest user on Long Island, perhaps even on the east coast, “ says Howard Chasner.

In 1986, they moved to a second location in the Lincoln Shopping Center, 1700 square feet, complete with a full kitchen which enabled the chef to create unique dishes in addition to the soups and sandwiches that were the staple of Jandis prepared foods in its earlier years. On a personal note, that newer location was where Howard formed a bond with one of his loyal customers, a frum woman from Long Beach, who years later would become Howard’s mother in law. “ My mother-in-law was a customer for years and years before introducing me to her daughter in 2002.

“I came onboard in 1992 full time to help my mother Judy who was carrying the store with my younger brother Myles. My father passed shortly after the first store opened. My mother wanted to serve healthy food but was clueless about the business side. A store that was in business 16 years wasn’t running efficiently. We were struggling.”

With an accounting degree from the University of Albany, Howard did a line-by-line analysis of the business. “We had loyal customers, they loved our food, but we were losing money. It was a pivotal time. We had to raise prices in the prepared foods department. It was a risk that we had to take. We explained it to customers, we raised prices, many understood and stayed loyal, some were upset.”

Jandi’s is coming up on its 10th year at its current 6000 square foot location on Long Beach Road. “‘It was a ‘build it and they will come’ dynamic,” noted Howard. “The new location echoed a huge shift in the dynamic of the industry,” said Howard. “There were big food and drug players that bought smaller companies. Healthy eating was becoming mainstream. Shoppers had different expectations. They wanted a cleaner, larger, more upscale shopping experience.”

The large eatery which for years sold prepared vegetarian food became kosher in 2008, when Rabbi Levy Gurkow, of the Chabad of Oceanside came on board as masgiach. “It was my commitment to developing a great connection to yiddishkeit that spawned the new direction of my store. It was an outgrowth of a personal decision,” said Howard who together with wife Elana and two children are residents of West Hempstead. The Chasners are HANC parents and active members of Anshei Sholom.

Through the growth of the business, Howard noted, “Jandi’s is not just a place to shop, but is a whole experience. We have always been committed to the personal and friendly relationships that we have with our customers. People walk out of here feeling good on multiple levels, sometimes not even aware of why.”

Loyal customers are singing the praises of Jandi’s.

“I’ve been shopping at Jandi’s since they were in the Lincoln shopping center,” said Kati Lismore of Long Beach who works locally in Oceanside. “Jandi’s saved my life. I couldn’t continue eating the food that they were serving in the school where I work. I’m more health conscious. I’m constantly evolving and upping my game. I became aware of the food that I used to buy, all because of the store. It’s a blessing that the store is here.”Samuel Ben Zev of Long Beach is “buying here a long time but started eating here because the food is kosher. Jandi’s makes the soup with bottled water. They are very reliable and honest.”

Leah Colish, a Certified Health Coach, (www.LeahColish.com ) considers Jandi’s, ”my home away from home. Anyone that walks in here feels like they’re welcome. They serve quality food. My kids love this place. As a health coach, I support my clients in reaching their health goals, by teaching them how to make better diet and lifestyle choices. I come here with my clients. Jandi’s is a hidden secret.”

Customers like Gail Levi of Long Beach are so appreciative of the staff’s knowledge and enthusiasm. “They (the staff) love what they do and it comes across.

Howard Chasner looks towards the future and the store’s growth. He is currently looking to market the prepared food to increase the customer base. He’s most proud of the effect that his mother Judy (a”h), who passed away in 2008, had on her customers. Analogous to the adage, “give a man a fish, he can eat for a day, teach him to fish he can eat for a lifetime,” Judy didn’t just give customers stuff to get better, she taught them how to get better. “A year after her passing, every single day, customers came up to me saying what a huge difference your mom made in my life.”

Jandi’s looks forward to welcoming new customers for lunch, dinner or take out. The prepared food department is over sixty linear feet, and boasts an allergy, color-coded menu with four different colored carrots indicating soy-free, gluten–free, nut-free, and vegan. Delivery is made within a five mile radius,