Meet the Cohen-Garai Ben-David family from Modi'in.
Pictured: Eyal, 51; Tami, 52; Barak, 22; Shahar, 18; Yoav, 17.5.
Not pictured: Tal, 25; Michal, 24; Yael, 21.
Each spouse has three children from a previous marriage.
The apartment:
Seven rooms. Purchased for 3.3 million shekels (approx. $1,035,000) about five years ago.
“Today a home like this costs almost 5 million shekels. It is a terraced complex; every apartment is different. To this day, I still do not fully understand how it all works", says Eyal.
Why Modi'in?
Eyal: “I lived in Jerusalem with my first wife, and when Modi'in started being built, there was an opportunity to buy an apartment here, so we went for it. It was just us and the bulldozers. It was a completely new city. The early years were tough and everything had to be built from scratch.”
Tami: “What I love here is that it feels like both a city and a village.”
Eyal: “Everyone wanted the same thing, good education for the kids. Education matters deeply to me. I served as head of the parents’ committees in the schools.”
PTA?
“I served during the hardest period, COVID-19 and the war. There were also many strikes. It was one crisis after another, and you are responsible for representing the parents of 27,000 students. I coordinated all school activities with the relevant municipal authorities. Both of us are addicted to volunteering."
What kind of volunteering?
Eyal: "I founded the parents’ patrol in Modi'in, groups of parents who walk around youth hangouts on Friday nights, make sure everything is OK and take care of kids when they are drunk. That is where I met Tami. Today I chair the city’s volunteer organizations."
Tami: “I've lived in Jerusalem for 30 years. My ex-husband’s parents moved to Modi'in. We came to visit, I saw what was happening here and realized this is where I want to raise my children. Jerusalem became far more dominated by ultra-Orthodox communities, and I felt I wanted something different. I am a tax adviser, and I moved my office to Modi'in as well.”
How do you unite two families in a second marriage?
Tami: “It was not simple. It was tough. We've been together for 11 years and married almost 7. We decided to marry, knowing it would help the children. There were tensions, but in the end we managed to create unity. My divorce was very difficult, and it was hard for my kids to move forward, especially when Eyal entered the picture and lived with us. There were years when it felt impossible, but thankfully Eyal did not give up."
Eyal: “Today our communication is on a completely different level, and Tami’s daughter works with me at the bar.”
Tell me about the bar:
Eyal: "Until 4 months ago, I spent 14 years as VP operations at a recycling company. I was responsible for 10 managers and 300 employees, a fleet of trucks and large budgets. It was a massive role. When I finished my term as head of the parents’ committee, I felt I needed something else as well.
I was in advanced talks to become CEO of a municipality when Tami sent me an ad showing that O’Sullivan’s, the first bar founded in Modi'in, was looking for the next generation of owners.
“But she did not send it randomly,” he says. “A year earlier, I decided to apply for a municipal tender for a food truck in the city, and I won.”
Food truck?
Eyal: "There was a city call for food trucks, with the condition that they operate only on weekends. We are both wine lovers, wine competition judges and also make wine ourselves, so we decided to apply with a cheese-focused food truck. We said, 'If we win, great; If not, we move on'. We won, and suddenly had no idea how to do it or where to get a food truck."
"My son had just been discharged from the army. I took him with me and we started searching. Two and a half weeks before opening, we found a truck and divided the work. Tami handled the food, I handled the wine, and my son Barak handled operations. Friends all pitched in to help.”
Tami: “When you do something out of love, it's not hard. We enjoyed it so much that it felt completely natural. We waited all week for the weekend.”
Eyal: “That is how we worked all year. Then in August we took a break, and suddenly Tami saw the O’Sullivan’s ad.”
O’Sullivan’s:
Tami: “It is a place we used to hang out in a lot. At times I told Eyal that maybe one day we would get involved. Then all of a sudden, I see this ad."
Eyal: “I was already deep in the process of becoming a municipal CEO. I stopped by O’Sullivan’s, and within half an hour, the place was mine.”
Tami: “I reviewed the financial reports, identified the weak points and knew it could succeed.”
Eyal: “It is a big gamble, but for me it is fulfilling a dream. My son is dealing with PTSD from his military service, and doing this together, knowing it makes a difference for him, means everything to me.”
Tami: "My daughter, recently discharged from the army, also joined the staff."
Eyal: "I see people enjoying themselves, and it fills me."
Tami: “We go out a lot, so the move into nightlife was not that hard.”
What did you learn?
“Everything comes down to management and service. Many people can make good food. Whether a steak is good or not is subjective, but in the end, customers are looking for an experience, and that is what I aim to deliver. We hold shows and events here. Bands send me material because they want to perform. Celebrities call to check things out. My whole world has changed. From waste recycling to nightlife."
Tami: “I am at O’Sullivan’s almost every evening. It makes me happy.”
Financial situation:
Eyal: “This transition is a kind of gamble, but we have financial breathing room and we are seeing growth, so I am not worried."
Tami: “There are always concerns, but we truly believe in it. We sold the food truck. You cannot do everything."