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August 27, 2010
Community café redux
Siegel celebrates one year at Nava’s helm.
BASYA LAYE
The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver is a community hub – a central meeting place for Jews of all ages and denominations. It goes without saying that a comfortable, clean eatery with good coffee and fresh food is an indispensable requirement. Since 2005, Nava Creative Kosher Cuisine has been that place, where agency professionals who work in the building’s rented offices, teens from area day schools, parents with kids at day care and seniors just finished a game of bridge or a swim in the pool, can come for a bite and find a friendly face.
Though the traffic is built in, it’s not a given that Nava will win the hearts and stomachs of those who travel the JCCGV’s halls. Harvey Sandler, the previous owner of Nava’s, built a loyal and hungry following after taking over and renaming Chagall’s café in 2005. Last year, when Sandler and his family decided to move on, well-known caterer Susy Siegel took over the reigns and Nava received another injection of new energy and culinary style.
Originally from Mexico, Siegel spent time in Israel, Pittsburgh and Victoria before settling in Vancouver 19 years ago. Starting her professional life as a nurse, Siegel told the Independent, “Catering came just as an opportunity. A friend asked me to do some cooking for her son’s bris – just because she always liked my cooking and she didn’t think that cooking for 70 people was a big deal for me. That was the beginning, actually. That was 15 years ago.”
Siegel gave up nursing when she started a family. “I thought I would go back [to nursing], but I didn’t want to do 12-hour shifts so, when the children were born, I taught Hebrew in different Hebrew schools, in Victoria and here.” However, catering’s demanding schedule was no less daunting than nursing, said Siegel. “When I started catering, it was 18-hour days!”
That said, Siegel wouldn’t trade her food-friendly life. “I love dealing with people. I love food – food is really a passion. I love presenting food, I love shopping, I love hearing what people have to say about food ... and just dealing with clients is always a high. I really love people!”
Siegel has been growing her client base for some time and, while much of her business comes from the Jewish community, she also has customers in the corporate world and beyond. “From word of mouth, I have some clientele that has nothing to do with the Jewish community, law firms and places like that.” Siegel caters whatever comes her way, including corporate events, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, barbecues, fundraisers and more.
Under Siegel’s stewardship, Nava continues to have a reputation for quality, healthy food. “We do a lot of fresh things,” she said. “We can do anything. A lot of ethnic foods, a lot of West Coast, everything really. Tuesday and Thursdays are Mexican days at the café.” Obligatory staples like muffins and other baked goods, salads, sushi and sandwiches still abound, available for dine in or take out.
After building a successful business, Siegel has had no trouble balancing the daily demands of running a high-traffic café and her catering venture. In fact, having her own space has been beneficial all around.
“Before I had Nava, I had to cook wherever the event took place, so I had to go to the different synagogues, rent the kitchens at the synagogues ... I’ve always done kosher catering. I’ve always wanted to have my own kitchen, but in Vancouver that was a risky situation. I always told Harvey that whenever he was ready to sell to keep me in mind, and he did. We negotiated for a little while and it happened.”
Sandler’s legacy is still apparent, having set the stage during his tenure for a successful restaurant in the JCCGV atrium, and Siegel was pleased with ease of the transition. “I felt prepared to take over where he left off. [Harvey] was a great example. I catered his wedding, actually. He was very happy with that, many years ago.” Running a café is not without its challenges though. “It was a challenge, because I’ve never had a café as well as a catering business. I took on, I suppose, most of his clients, and my clients are loyal, thank goodness. It was a big, big step, but I have really good people beside me – a lot of support. Two of my children work with me, very hard.”
Siegel can’t say enough about her son, Jackie, and her daughter, Ariela. “One is in the office with me every single day, overtime,” said Siegel. “He’s been quite incredible – he’s very capable, everybody loves him, he’s very knowledgeable. Clients love him. In fact, very often, they phone and they ask for him, not for me!” Of her daughter, who works in the café, Siegel said, “She’s great! She’s there whenever we need her.”
Coming up to her one-year anniversary, Siegel feels that she’s been able to overcome most of the challenges. “Harvey gave a very good introduction and he stayed for two weeks with us, so it was [a smooth transition]. I have been doing this for a while, [the café] just meant that I have more stuff and more orders to take care of, but the JCC has been so wonderful, so welcoming, a pleasure to deal with. Being every day at the JCC is like being at home. They have been more than wonderful. I have not enough good words for all of them. Everything we need, they’ve been so welcoming. It’s been really, really good.”
Nava is open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. till one hour before Shabbat; and Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. To reach the café, call 604-676-7579; for information on catering, call 604-676-7632.
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