Esrogei Rieger Continues to Innovate By Adding a WhatsApp Order Form and Free Delivery in BP

By Yehudit Garmaise

After feeling frustrated with Boro Park’s old model of selling esrogim, which involved showing only a few options that were not marked with prices, 11 years ago, the Rieger brothers launched what is their ongoing revolution in esrogim shopping in the neighborhood. 

“We wanted to give people the ease and convenience of shopping for lulavim and esrogim by allowing customers to see many beautiful options at one time,” said Shloimy Rieger who launched Esrogei Rieger with his older brother Tuli. “We separate out esrogim into four price categories: 

Parents can purchase a chinuch set of an esrog and hadassim for $100, and for regular sets, adults can choose among Esrogei Rieger’s three prices of $225, $275, and $350 in price breaks that are labeled: mehudar, mefoar and muvchar.

“Once customers choose which levels they want to pay for beautiful, hand-picked esrogim, we will deliver them to your doors together with lulavim and hadassim,” said Shloimy Rieger, who explained that customers head to their shuls or on the street to buy aravos erev Sukkos so they “should stay fresh for Yom Tov.”

Esrogei Rieger can only offer only the best of the bunch because, since Tu B’av, when most Yidden were enjoying the last weeks of summer, Shloimy and Tuli Rieger were examining and sorting thousands of esrogim that were harvested in the warm climates of Eretz Yisroel, Italy, Greece, and Morocco.

“So that our customers have many good choices, I try very much to pick out only the very best esrogim,” Shloimy Rieger told BoroPark24. “When my customers look at five esrogim, I want them all to be beautiful, instead of just one nice esrog for every group of five.”

True to their Bobover minhagim, the Riegers consistently choose esrogim that have a wider bottom and a skinnier top: like a tower, explained Shloimy, who is sure to add that they have beautiful esrogim in all shapes and sizes.

“All my esrogim have a certain gidle and a certain beauty that make them stand out as pri etzim hadar,” he said. “Our esrogim are really nice, clean, and well-shaped.”

Not only will customers of Esrogei Rieger easily find the perfect fruits for them, but this year, Shloimy also brought some samples of esrog plants to show customers and their children what the plants look like as their flowers first blossom flowers and then eventually as their thick-skinned yellow fruit starts to emerge through the plants’ green leaves. 

After transforming Yidden’s interactions at esrogim tables at Beth El more than a decade ago, this year, Esrogei Reiger further innovated its business model by creating a WhatsApp order form HERE and a free delivery service only for Boro Park customers.

“We have enough drivers to handle all the deliveries in the evening hours so the esrogim can be left in a cool place: and never out in the hot sun,” he said. “We want your esrogim to stay super-fresh for Sukkos.”

While no one is obligated to buy an esrog before Yom Kippur, Rieger explained that to take care of your esrog shopping this week goes into the inyan of zrezum laakdima le mitzvah.

“People should come whenever is good for them,” Rieger said “But to do any mitzvah b’zrezus is always preferable.” 

“IYH, we should be able to serve many more customers this year, and we are just getting started.”

After opening their doors just days ago at Young Israel Beth El, which is at 4802 15th Ave., the Rieger brothers will be open every day from 5 to 11:30pm every night until erev Sukkos.