Handmaker has been providing kosher meals to its residents and the community for 60 years. With the limited options for kosher dining in Tucson, Handmaker has also long provided kosher catering and meals to Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona, as well as to local hotels and hospitals. This summer, Handmaker took a larger step into the kosher catering and dining scene with the creation of Mae’s Kosher Kitchen, supervised by Rabbi Yossi Shemtov.
Mae’s Kosher Kitchen is currently offering a take-out menu, serving deli favorites like the reuben sandwich on rye and other deli sandwich options, along with borscht, pickled herring, and a variety of other delicious salads and sides. You can also get a hamburger, hot dog, chicken wrap sandwich, chef salad and much more. The menu was created and is prepared by Handmaker Executive Chef Claire Ferguson, Director of Food Services Mike Felde, and Lead Cook Daniela Hernandez, all of whom have many years of experience in local restaurants and resorts. Additional catering items are available to order, and all orders are being coordinated by Tucson newcomer, Naftali Levin (Tally).
Tally was born and raised in Israel. He is the grandson of Aryeh Levin, also known as the tzaddik (righteous) of Jerusalem. He served in the Israel Defense Forces as a medic, worked in the Jerusalem Police Department, and then moved to New York where he had a smoked fish business. He came to Arizona three years ago to receive treatment at the Mayo Clinic after an accident left him wheelchair bound. He is so grateful to have recovered, to be able to walk again, and to be here in Tucson, helping the Tucson Jewish community.
Mae’s Kosher Kitchen is named for Mae Handmaker. She had a vision to create a kosher home for the aged in Tucson. Shortly before her death in 1955, her husband Murf promised her that he would fulfill her dream.
Her passion for the project was a result of her experience with her own mother, Pearl Bloom. Pearl had been living with the Handmakers in Tucson, but, as she began to decline and Mae could no longer take care of her, Mae moved Pearl to a kosher facility for seniors in New York. There were no such facilities in the entire state of Arizona. The home was near Mae’s uncles, Ben and Maurice Bloom, but far from Mae. Not being able to be with her mother as she declined and eventually passed away broke Mae’s heart.
Murf fulfilled his commitment to Mae in 1963 when Handmaker opened its doors, with the help of many friends and the Jewish community.
Mae’s Kosher Kitchen honors Mae and her vision to create Handmaker Jewish Home for the Aging, which today remains the only kosher senior living facility in Arizona.
To order from Mae’s Kosher Kitchen, contact Tally at 520-870-1808 or nlevin@handmaker.org.
