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Leibman’s Resurrected

On December 23, 2003, Ettienne Leibman flew to Disney World with her grandchildren. There was not much she could do in Houston; her specialty food store, a labor of love for 24 years, had burned to the ground three days prior, just in time for the holiday rush.

“I had spent 24 years of blood, sweat and tears building a business, and in a few hours, it was destroyed, says Leibman, who opened Leibman’s in partnership with her husband Ralph in 1979 after emigrating from South Africa. “Until you experience the devastation of a fire, you cannot understand how it feels to have lost everything." Leibman immediately vowed to resurrect the store. “I had thousands of customers who depended on my market for specialty food, wine, catering and other culinary needs, she says. “Even more important, I had staff members who had given years of their lives. I owed a lot to my customers and my staff.

On December 2, just a few weeks before the work interruption insurance covering her ten key employees expired, Leibman came “back with a bang, cutting the ribbon on a sparkling 11,300-square-foot Leibman's Wine & Fine Foods, more than double the size of the previous store. With the opportunity to build from scratch, Leibman and her team have created a stellar market. And shoppers are responding. Specialty Food Magazine estimates that the new market does about $38,000 in weekly sales. And volume should grow as consumers discover the store.

A Food Perfectionist
Leibman grew up in the hospitality industry in South Africa. As a teenager, she ran the restaurant in the family hotel, learning to cook and to manage. In 1977, she and her husband Ralph, who had been a liquor importer in South Africa, emigrated to Houston. They opened a liquor store, selling bourbon, wine and beer to hard-drinking Texans. Leibman recalls, “We soon discovered that selling liquor in Texas was a price and volume business, without a lot of glamour. “We began looking at food as a way to differentiate our store. It began when a customer bought wine for a party, and asked if we had cheese. We didn’t but I knew where to find it. I drove to Jamail’s, bought cheese and pâté, created a party platter and charged a 5 percent commission.

Leibman's soon established a reputation for cheese, pâté, deli meats and other foods for entertaining; crackers, dips and other accompaniments were soon added. Prepared foods was the next step. “Fresh food would attract people, says Leibman. “But not being from this country, I did not understand what appealed to Americans. I visited other markets, sandwich shops and diners and soon learned that I needed to focus on three items—chicken salad, tuna salad and egg salad.

Yet being a food perfectionist, Leibman did not want to sell just any salad. She created Chicken Salad Afrique, utilizing 17 spices from her homeland. “We’ve developed several signature items over the years, but nothing has built the following of Chicken Salad Afrique, Leibman says. Even though 150 pounds of the salad is sold weekly, Leibman still mixes the spices in her home kitchen. “It’s my secret, she notes. Prepared foods, an ever-expanding array of specialty items and wine kept the market growing. Yet after a dozen years, profitability was still soft. Leibman made her most stressful, and ultimately successful, business decision. Liquor was eliminated. She says, “We were carrying more than $1 million in liquor inventory, and not making any money selling it. We looked deep within and said, ‘The liquor has to go.’

The extra space was soon filled with specialty foods, wine, gift baskets and so on. Yet the 5,600 square feet were quite haphazard as the market had been added on to in a crossword-puzzle type way. Still, business was strong. On Saturday, December 20, the staff stayed late to pack out the store with its biggest inventory ever, including $12,000 worth of caviar and 30 cases of cream cheese, preparing for the four days prior to Christmas, which account for as much as 12 percent of annual sales. Five hours later, everything was destroyed. The only salvageable thing: Leibman’s recipe notebooks, which contained 1,500 recipes.

The Jiffy Lube Connection
Three months after the fire, Ralph Leibman ventured out on a Sunday to get his car serviced at Jiffy Lube. As he was waiting, he noticed that the Burger King next door was being boarded up. He learned that the property, on busy Memorial Drive in West Houston, would soon become available. He told Ettienne, who leased the land.

By happenstance, Leibman met an architect who lived just blocks from her house. Sitting in her living room, he noticed two massive pieces of copper on the back porch. Leibman says, “When we left South Africa, we brought an 1820s copper still for making brandy, and a wine press. The architect said that those must be the centerpieces of the store. Leibman’s two design conditions: High ceilings and a stained concrete floor. She says, “I had spent nearly 25 years with a low fake ceiling and ugly tile floors. I wanted a space where nothing would detract from the beauty of the merchandise.

The still and the wine press sit atop columns in the center, making a strong visual statement. The industrial-looking ceiling is painted dark green. A massive bow window in front makes the store glimmer at night to the thousands of cars that pass by.

The Lunch Bunch
The most successful department to date has been deli, which accounts for 30 percent of sales. And many shoppers are eating in at the tables that seat 60. The lunch business has been so brisk that Leibman’s initiated free valet parking from 11 until 2, because each of the 40 parking spaces in front were full. The service deli stretches across the entire back of the market, with a “dream kitchen behind it. “I remember when we made everything on a two-burner stove, Leibman remarks.

The star is the abundant selection of prepared foods. Along with the Chicken Salad Afrique ($9.99/pound), other signature items include Granny Jean’s Potato Salad ($4.99), Chicken Scallopini ($9.99), Chopped Chicken Liver ($8.99) and ET’s Creamy Garlic Cole Slaw ($4.99). Tomato Pie, Feta Olivaid, Noodle Kugel and Spring Chicken Salad are among the 60 or so salads, sides and entrées on display. Sandwiches are popular, with panninis and a bulging muffaletta among the selection. One of the most intriguing is the Really Great Greek, made with applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and feta olivaid spread.

Gummi Hot Dogs and South African Wine
Immediately inside the entrance is a coffee and tea department, which did not exist in the former store. There is also an extensive candy section, which sells everything from gummi hot dogs to Leonidis Belgian chocolates. Confections account for 12 percent of sales. Wine represents 14 percent of volume, despite the fact that the store does not yet have a “wine steward. The selection stresses hard-to-find wines that would not be available at other Houston supermarkets. There is, understandably, a strong South African wine presence.

Specialty foods, which account for 18 percent of sales, are merchandised on Metro shelving located on the right side, immediately before checkout. While there are some new products, Leibman consistently carries historical strong brands, such as American Vintage Wine Biscuits, Allen & Cowley and Clearbrook Farms. She says, “I know what has helped me grow this business over the past 25 years. With extra space and an ever-increasing customer count, Leibman is eager to bring in more merchandise. She concludes, “I will never forget the devastation of the fire, but it has resulted in a rebirth of our business.

Ron Tanner is editor of Specialty Food Magazine.