The Senderovics were born in Argentina, made aliyah in the 1980s, and immigrated to the United States in 2002. The family wanted to live in a country that was not in a “continuous state of war” and chose to live between Argentina and Argentine families. Israel, according to her daughter Lee Senderovich.
Ten years after coming to America, the family opened Nana's Kitchen. It was an American restaurant known for its Argentinian, Israeli, and Mediterranean influences.
In that sense, we were no different from family. Patriarch and owner Gladys Senderovich always cooked eclectic-inspired dishes at home for his four daughters.
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But earlier this month, Nana's Kitchen was attacked. It was a message written in giant graffiti along the side wall of the restaurant: “Liberate Gaza.”
The owner of a nearby movie theater noticed it while taking out the trash on March 14 and alerted Nana's Kitchen employee Eli Shea. Lee Senderovich said Senderovich's family called Narberth police, who were cooperative.
The next day, a large crowd of lunchers gathered outside the restaurant on Narberth Avenue. Two days later, more than 20 people commented on Nana's Kitchen & Catering LLC's Facebook post in support. A few days later, 200 people, including Narberth Mayor Andrea Deutsch, took part in a rally in support of Nanaz in downtown Narberth.
“I call on each and every one of you to join us in this fight: to stand against anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head,” Deutsch said at the rally. The video was posted by local news site This Is Lower Merion.
A week after it all started, on a quiet, cold, sunny Thursday in Narberth, by 2 p.m., Nana's had several tables full and Shea was taking orders at the counter. Gladys Senderovich was cooking food in the back.
Lee Senderovich, who was sitting at the table, recalled when Shea came in and said, “I have something to show you.''
“I got goosebumps,” Lee Senderovich said of his first reaction.
The daughter explained that the company next door called EZ Phone Repair is also run by Israelis.
“I haven’t seen any other spray painting in Narberth,” she said.
Lee Senderovich has focused on anti-Semitic incidents in the news. What she experienced was different, she said.
“It was personal,” she added.
After the family called the police, Sergeant Michael Vernacchio came to look at the wall. He also gave his phone number to his family.
And “the community noticed right away,” Lee Senderovich said. Locals “immediately showed up at Nana's house.”
“We realized, okay, we’re not alone in this,” my daughter said.
Lee Senderovich expected some “hatred and controversy” to ensue on Facebook. But she couldn't see anything. Her post was “almost unanimous,” she said. The original post on Nana's account showing the graffiti had her 45 shares.
“A lot of local residents, non-Jews, came and said, 'I can't believe this is happening.' This is not representative of us,” Lee said.
Police told the Senderovic family that this was the first incident in Narberth related to the October 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing war. Lee Senderovich said he did not classify it as a hate crime because “technically it's just vandalism and free speech.”
“Since it was a Jewish restaurant that was targeted, I think that context should have something to do with what we call it,” she added.
The Senderovic family also knows that two of them, Yair Horn (44) and Eitan Horn (37), were held hostage by Hamas. After making her aliyah, Gladys and her late husband Maxi worked in Argentina as shlichim, or educators of Israelis from other countries. Lee Senderovich said the Horn brothers were part of their youth group.
The family maintained contact with the brothers over the years.
“Many of the teenagers who later became adults sent aliyah to Israel,” Lee Senderowich said. “Yair was like a brother to us.”
(Photo courtesy of Jarad Safran)
Yair Horn joined the Israel Defense Forces and settled in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. Kibbutz Nir Oz was attacked by Hamas on October 7th.
“The last time we heard about them was during the second release of women and children in November,” Lee said. “Some of the girls who were held hostage say they saw them.”
The Senderovich family opened Nana's in 2012 at Kaiserman JCC in Wynnewood. The original purpose was to feed the children at Camp Kef, but “people loved it,” Lee Senderovich said. Maxi Senderovic, an irrigation engineer by trade, connected the pipes and cables from the JCC to the corner where Nanaz plans to open.
Over the next few years, the business grew large enough to require its own location, Lee Senderovich said.
“That’s where we are now,” she said.
And that's where they belong.
Lee Senderovich said the incident “only strengthens my identity.”
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