C. C. Church, 2010
Zeitman's Grocery Store: 336 Fore Street, Portland, ME, 1979. Zeitman brothers, left two, Bob the Barber, right.
Blake Zeitman’s goal in life never was to become a grocer. He’s a restaurateur by trade, first with Big Daddy Z’s food truck and later, Blake’s Steaks in College Station. But when the search of the perfect cheesesteak on a 25-state road trip brought him face-to-face with his ancestor’s grocery store in Portland, Maine, Zeitman knew he had to continue that legacy.
The original Zeitman’s Grocery Store opened in 1891 by a family of Eastern European Jewish immigrants fleeing the Russian Imperial Army. The general store was so successful that it led to a second location until it sold in 1979. It was converted into a bar, but the original sign, now a registered landmark, is still there, bearing the Zeitman surname. “Something lit a fire in me standing in front of it,” says Zeitman. “It had never been a thought to open a Zeitman’s or delve into that side of the family before.”
As Zeitman started researching his ancestors, he discovered that many of them were involved in food service in some way, owning grocery stores or delis or restaurants. He’s had Zeitman cousins he didn’t even know about reach out to him to tell him how excited they are about his new endeavor and that they want to come to Texas to visit. “It’s something that I felt always ran in my blood,” says Zeitman. “There was something there that I had to pursue — a sense of pride I’ve come back to as an adult.”
In February 2020, Zeitman announced he was closing Blake’s Steaks to work on bringing Zeitman’s Grocery Store to downtown Bryan. The new store, which will be located at 220 North Main Street, will include a Blake’s Steaks Express plus grocery staples, deli meats and cheeses, and baked goods. Zeitman has also been testing a selection of prepared foods like matzo ball soup, borscht, and noodle kugel to offer regularly in-store. “They’re very Eastern European Jewish kind of foods,” says Zeitman. “I also really love Israeli foods, so we’ll have homemade hummus and Israeli salads with fresh ingredients from local farmers.”
The store was originally slated to open August 2020, but the pandemic slowed things down. Renovation is now underway, and Zeitman is aiming for an early spring opening. For the time being, he and his team are operating out of Renegade Kitchen on Texas Avenue selling products online and to their wholesale customers. “It’s tough not having our own place, but Renegade has been wonderful,” says Zeitman. “It’s allowed us to keep people employed and stay busy. Of course, it’s horrible to see a lot of my fellow restaurateurs and other local businesses suffer. But we’re surviving, and we’re starting to thrive. I think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
One of the ways Zeitman’s has adapted is by hosting pop-up shops at Renegade. Zeitman’s serves cheesesteaks on the first Saturday of the month, and on second Saturdays, bagel sandwiches. The business is most famous for its bagels, which can be paired with a smorgasbord of cream cheeses or lox, Zeitman says. Bagels are available for order online each week before the brick-and-mortar store opens, as well as fresh loaves of white and challah bread, and family dinners that vary from week to week. Customers can place a grocery order any time at zeitmans.com for pickup on Saturdays.
Zeitman’s also carries a selection of local products online that will continue to be staples in the new store, like Muriel Mathieu’s millionaire’s shortbread bars. Moo-llionaire & Co hires and trains adults with disabilities to make the bars and gives a portion of the proceeds to a variety of charities. “Those are the kind of people I want to support,” says Zeitman. “I think her products are incredible, and she’s a wonderful person. I sell those products because I believe in them.” He tries to carry as many quality local products as he can, he says. “But they’re always something I would personally use.”
As Zeitman looks to the future, he is excited to get back to his roots. Though Zeitman’s won’t be a kosher deli, he says he’s enjoyed rediscovering tradition and childhood memories like eating latkes and making Purim snacks like hamantaschen and challah while playing around with and adapting old family recipes. “The goal is not to compete but to be a neighborhood market,” says Zeitman. “In New York they have these things called bodegas. That’s what we want to be: the basics with a little bit extra. Something hot, fresh, and high quality, but not necessarily a sit-down kind of place. It’ll be a one-stop shop for downtown Bryan.”
Zeitman's baked goods are available at 1775 Texas Pit BBQ, Caffe’ Capri, Charliemac’s Burger & Donuts Kitchen, Gogh Gogh Coffee Company, Hullabaloo Diner, POV Coffee House, Sôlt, The Village, and Urban Table.
