Schnitzly on the Front Cover

by Ryan E. Smith, LADowntownNews.com

While untold numbers of 20-somethings arrive in Los Angeles every year with dreams of making it big in Hollywood, Yakov Brenenson and Menachem Eliyahu had other plans. When they settled in the City of Angels last year, they brought along 20 suitcases and dreams of… schnitzel.

It’s an unlikely approach, yes, but the two friends who grew up in Israel were dead set on creating a kosher restaurant dedicated to chicken coated in breadcrumbs.

“We wanted to bring a new thing to a new area,” Brenenson said on a recent Thursday afternoon. “Originally it’s from Israel, this idea, the schnitzel store. It’s very big.”

Last July, the two ultra-Orthodox Jews opened their first schnitzel shop, the appropriately named Schnitzly (it means “my schnitzel” in Hebrew) in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood. It was a natural location given the area’s dense Jewish population.

In March, they expanded Schnitzly to a possibly surprising location: Downtown Los Angeles.

Located at 119 E. Seventh St., the restaurant’s sign beckons passersby with a chicken’s giant red comb and beak. Inside, drop-down lighting and spring-green walls provide a clean, contemporary look. The concept is similar to many fast-food sub shops that allow patrons to customize their sandwiches.

Schnitzly’s menu lives up to the name, with about 10 kinds of schnitzel sandwiches. There’s chili schnitzel, falafel schnitzel, Indian schnitzel and even a vegetarian schnitzel made with Portobello mushrooms. Numerous homemade sauces include everything from sweet chili to chimichurri. Among the sides are kosher French fries and an Israeli salad.

“The main reason we opened this location is for the non-kosher or non-Jewish [customer],” Brenenson said. “If we see that the customers like this place then we have the green light to open everywhere. This is like a big test for us.”

Rabbi’s Approval

Rabbi Moshe Greenwald, who keeps kosher and runs the Jewish Community Center-Chabad of Downtown Los Angeles a few blocks west on Seventh Street, had an immediate interest in Schnitzly. As a place that strictly adheres to Jewish dietary laws, the restaurant is one of only a few in the vicinity where he can eat.

“I’ve lived Downtown for close to four years,” Greenwald said. “I’ve seen five kosher places open and close, unfortunately.”

The problem, he said, is that many kosher establishments don’t build upon their natural, but small, base. While the area is home to numerous Orthodox Jews, many of whom work in the nearby Jewelry District, Greenwald noted that a successful restaurant also has to lure the growing residential community.

To accomplish that, Greenwald thinks Schnitzly has to stay open late. That’s in the playbook for Brenenson and Eliyahu. Although the Pico outlet serves past midnight every night (except Friday, when it closes at 3 p.m. for the Sabbath), the Downtown shop currently closes on weekdays at 6 p.m. (the Seventh Street location also has the Friday 3 p.m. close). The owners hope that business will pick up and quickly warrant an extension.

Greenwald, for one, is a fan — both of the giant, custom-made sandwiches served on fresh-baked baguettes, and the pluck of the 21-year-olds.

“I think their food is delicious,” he said. “These kids have a lot of guts to come out here.”

Saving Up

Both Brenenson and Eliyahu, who wear yarmulkes, or skullcaps, as part of their faith, grew up in the religious community of Kfar Chabad in central Israel. They moved to New York as teenagers seeking more opportunities for financial success

There they tried their hands at a variety of jobs. Brenenson, the son of American expatriates, helped set up security systems. Eliyahu ended up working with schnitzel.

With nothing more than what they could fit in their luggage, the pair traveled across the country to start their own restaurant. In less than a month, they succeeded.

How they managed to save up the necessary $275,000 is a bit of a miracle, they said, but it’s one they worked hard at accomplishing.

“We’re very focused,” Brenenson said. “When I was in Israel I used to have a period that I used to work like 20 hours a day. Literally we used to eat toast for half a year every day just to save our money.”

The Pico Boulevard Schnitzly met with immediate success. That led to fast-tracking the Downtown location. They raised another $250,000 and were excited by the challenge.

“We want to take this risk,” Eliyahu said.

As a kosher restaurant, Schnitzly must have all of its products made under the strict supervision of someone intimately familiar with Jewish dietary law. Everything from the ingredients to the way the food is prepared to the way the chickens are slaughtered must follow specific procedures. Also, as an establishment that serves meat, it cannot offer any dairy products.

All of this adds to the cost of doing business, but Brenenson doesn’t mind. In addition to offering a rare eatery for observant Jews like himself and Eliyahu, he believes the kosher label could actually draw in others.

“They know that it’s better quality food,” he said.

Moreover, he continued, the point always has been to make a great restaurant that happens to be kosher, not just an eatery that conforms to religious standards.

“We felt that Downtown was missing that — kosher but then also good,” Brenenson said. “We’re trying to be a restaurant. We’re not trying to be a synagogue.”

To help entice patrons, Downtown’s Schnitzly offers lower prices than the original location. Combo meals for drinks and giant sandwiches are $10 after tax.

Brenenson and Eliyahu said they hope their efforts are embraced by residents and lead to a revival of the area where their business is situated. Although Seventh Street west of Olive has emerged as a restaurant row in recent years — Bottega Louie, Sugarfish and Mas Malo are among the new businesses that have found an ample audience — the blocks between Olive and Los Angeles streets continue to lag.

All of which means that life will stay busy for the entrepreneurs who have already had a crazy year. In 10 months they opened two restaurants, Brenenson got married and Eliyahu became engaged. Who knows what the future holds? If Brenenson and Eliyahu have anything to say about it, it will involve more schnitzel.

“The reason we’re so sure of ourselves is, when you taste the sandwich you’re hooked,” Brenenson said. “You never go out hungry. It’s always fresh. It’s something different.”

These two certainly haven’t gotten tired of it yet.

As Eliyahu admitted, “I eat [schnitzel] almost every day.”

Schnitzly is at 119 E. Seventh St., (213) 488-9511 or