Tastemakers: The Legacy of Jewish Entrepreneurs in the Mid-Atlantic Grocery Industry

After shopping at my local Shoppers, I just had to buy myself a copy of Jeremy Diamond’s book, Tastemakers The Legacy of Jewish Entrepreneurs in the Mid-Atlantic Grocery Industry. This book was a scrumptious read. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Diamond family’s contributions to the Jewish grocery industry, as well as the yummy history of the mid-Atlantic Jewry’s grocery store fame. Jeremy, a notable expert on the history of grocery stores (what a unique talent!), goes into delicious detail on many of the area’s well known grocery stores, including Giant, Shoppers, Weis, and discusses the mouthwatering histories of these storied institutions in the Mid-Atlantic region.From a physical and visual standpoint, the delectable paperback is large but with simple text. The book focuses solely on the material at hand at length. It incorporates choice and selected, yet appetizing photographs of grocery yore.For myself, whose family has had a long connection with Baltimore, Maryland within the Mid-Atlantic corridor (my family owned and operated the first Jewish owned bookstore in Baltimore), Jeremy’s appetizing book read like a fascinating novella. I brought my plate to the buffet and partook in lip-smacking tidbits about the famous scions of Jewish families who founded and operated many of these grocery chains, such as the Metzgers, the Denrichs, the Tulkoffs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the delicious drama, subterfuge, and challenges that they faced in the heydays of the early 1900’s.In sum, should you buy this book? Absolutely. I rate it five boxes of Wheaties for .27 cents each. Author's note: I purchased this book with my own funds and did not receive anything in exchange for my review, which is unbiased, honest, and deliciously straightforward.

Having been in the Retail Food Industry for over 40 years, I found this book to be a nice walk down Memory Lane. Very easy to read, with enough information to give you a feel for who the Retailers/Brokers/Distributors are/were. It was a very enjoyable book that I would highly recommend.

This book was very interesting. Given that my family sold poultry on Lombard street the evolution of the “Tastemakers” spoke to me. The author, who is a grandson of one of the owners of the Food-A-Rama grocery chain, passionately depicts the rise and evolution of the family business . He then provides a rich history of all the grocers building successful stores in the Baltimore Washington region. The book is well laid out, tackling each of the major players and then touches on the smaller ones. If you walk into a grocery store today in the Maryland, DC region , close your eyes and think about how the business was built it will surely change your experience.I purchased this book with my own funds and did not receive anything in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed the entire book. Very enlightening re all the different grocerys and Lombard St. Brought back a lot of good memories and there are lots of pictures. Buy this book. You will really enjoy it.