NEW YORK, NY — Frozen dessert concept Tasti D-Lite has inked an area development deal for the New York Metro market, the company has announced. The agreement includes the addition of 35 franchised locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut over the next 10 years.
Spearheading the expansion is area developer MM Ventures LLC, a development firm comprised of financial professional Robert Gatti, Wealth Depot founder and CPA Daniel Gordon and former attorney, investment banker and current Tasti D-Lite franchisee Lindsay Held. The trio has purchased the development rights to Manhattan, New York's Westchester and Nassau counties, New Jersey's Bergen, Essex and Passaic counties, and Connecticut's Fairfield County.
MM Ventures will be seeking qualified franchisees to participate in the expansion of the Tasti D-Lite concept as well as offering their support to the existing franchisees throughout their territory to grow operations. Franchisee Abdul Rashid is opening his fifth Tasti D-Lite center in New York City this spring.
Tasti D-Lite's growth strategy includes a combination of single and multiunit franchises, area developers and international master franchisees. MM Ventures is the company's third area developer within the U.S.; the other two area developers are located in the South Texas markets of Houston, San Antonio and Austin, and the Nashville/Middle Tennessee area.
Since the launch of its franchise program in 2008, Tasti-D-Lite has grown to 50 locations and has secured commitments to open more than 200 stores in the coming years. In 2009, Tasti D-Lite plans to open domestic locations in Tennessee, Texas, Connecticut, California, Arizona and Florida as well as New York and New Jersey. Internationally, the company intends to build on its presence in South Korea with growth targeted in Latin America, the Middle East and Western Europe.
