Kosher supermarket in West Hartford is busy preparing for Passover

At Crown Market in West Hartford, Passover means stocking the shelves with food that is kosher to eat during holiday.

But it doesn't stop there. It also means making sure the store's kitchen, including the utensils, countertops and equipment are kosher for Passover as well.

"It's a pretty, a pretty intense holiday," store owner Debbie Raviv said.

Raviv and her husband, Khen, became the new owners of Crown Market in West Hartford in May 2023.

"This is going to be our first Passover in the store, but we know that is the busiest holiday of the year for the store," Raviv said.

Passover celebrates the Israelites' journey out of Egypt after many decades of slavery. It's believed the Israelites left in such a hurry that the bread they prepared didn't have a chance to rise.

That's why those who observe the holiday eat matzah, flat unleavened bread, for eight days. They'll also avoid food with leavened grains, such as wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt.

"We have very strict kosher dietary rules during Passover," the store's Kosher Supervisor Sara Kavitsky said.

Leading up to Passover, Kavitsky has to make sure the store is ready for the holiday through a process called Kashering, which means "to make kosher."

Kavitsky said it's time-consuming, which is why they're starting the process now.

"We have to take everything out of the kitchen. Clean it down, take every product out basically," Kavitsky said.

And they'll do a deep clean.

"Either by boiling things in a big vat of water or we'll use a blow torch for some things," Kavitsky said.

This year, the store is doing something new.

"We are not going to be serving anything that is not kosher for Passover during the Passover holiday," Raviv said.

This means the bakery, pizza and sushi stations will be closed and some sections of the store will be covered up.

"We're under a stricter supervision now with the store, in terms of our kosher supervision, and that is to service our reach for the community," Raviv said.

One customer was getting his Passover shopping done on Tuesday. He said he makes a special trip from Windham to shop at Crown Market every year.

"This is where you can find everything you need to be prepared for a week-long holiday," Jeffrey Baefsky said.

Store owner Debbie Raviv and her husband say they hope Jewish families come together during the holiday to show their pride and celebrate for those who can't.

"This year, extra important after what happened on October 7 in Israel to celebrate Passover and to show the unity that we have among us," Khen Raviv said.

Baefsky said despite the work it takes to prepare for Passover, he looks forward to it.

"It's the middle of the Jewish year, and this is where you pause and think where you've come from and you stop and take stock of how far you've come," Baefsky said.

This year, Passover starts the evening of Monday, April 22 and ends Tuesday, April 30.