Dizengoff Center
Photo: Omer Hacohen
Kosher food chains report rise in turnover on Pesach
Restaurants, coffee houses, malls and shopping centers all report rise in number of visitors visitors this Pesach complared to last year. Increase felt mainly in kosher branches
Restaurants and coffee houses seemed to be the big winners this Pesach, especially restaurants that offered kosher menus.
The BIG Shopping Centers chain reported a 7% rise in the number of visitors compared to Passover 2008, and a 25% rise compared to an ordinary weekday.
The Café Café chain reported fivefold turnover in its kosher branches during the holiday, and three times as many customers in its non-kosher branches.
Five thousand people visited the Ikea restaurant in Netanya at the start of the week of Pesach – a record number since its opening. The furniture store also reported a 4% rise in customers and a 10% rise in sales.
On Sunday, some 22,000 people visited Ikea on Sunday, compared to 7,000 – 8,000 customers on a regular day.
The Azrieli Malls Group and Israel Malls reported a number of visitors similar to last year, while Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv reported a 3% increase in visitors, mainly thanks to the new wing recently opened in the mall.
"Even though it's a similar number of visitors and it seems that turnover remained unchanged, it's a rise compared to the rest of the year," said Ofer Shechter, CEO of the Promall management company.
