If you live in Manhattan, chances are you know Tasti D-Lite.
If not, perhaps you know it from “Sex and the City” as Charlotte”™s favorite dessert.
Either way, the Manhattan-based frozen dessert chain, which has had a cult-like following since its inception in 1987, is expanding across the country.
Its debut location in Westchester will open next month.
“Given the strong brand name and the demographics of Westchester County we thought it would mesh nicely in the suburbs in addition to being a very healthful product relative to other options,” said Marc Dolfman, who owns the new bright pink store at 1282 North Ave. in New Rochelle with his sister-in-law Yael Laifer.
Dolfman and Laifer have been fans of Tasti D-Lite for years ”“ Dolfman from his time working in finance in Manhattan and Laifer from her college days in Manhattan.
“Tasti D-Lite has been an institution for more than 20 years in the New York area, where customers literally line up day and night to get their favorite guilt-free frozen treat,” said  Bill Zinke, chief marketing officer for Tasti D-Lite. “Part of the brand”™s popularity comes from being featured on several episodes of ”˜Sex and the City,”™ appearing on other programs like ”˜The Apprentice”™ and ”˜The Tyra Banks Show”™ and generally being a favorite of actors and models who live in or visit the city.”
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Zinke said under new ownership in 2007, the decision was made to expand nationwide and around the world through the franchising model.
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“The reason is very simple,” Zinke said. “People today are more conscious than ever about what they eat, both at mealtime and for snacks, and are striving to live more healthfully overall, for themselves and their families ”“ but they still want to enjoy life and enjoy what they eat. They just want to treat themselves responsibly. Tasti D-Lite is geared toward this mainstream base of people who love sweet, creamy frozen treats but also want to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.”
Zinke said the company thinks of the brand as “a celebration of life and health.”
“In Manhattan, Tasti”™s cult-like following grew because people could eat it every day, and many do,” Zinke said. “Most flavors contain 80 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs or less and five grams or less of sugar, per four fluid-ounce serving. And it also contains five grams of protein and 15 percent of the recommended daily allowance of calcium per four fluid-ounce serving. So for all of these reasons, it”™s become the treat of choice for many celebrities as well as everyday health-conscious consumers who want a delicious healthier treat.”
Zinke said Tasti D-Lite”™s goal is to build a global 500-center franchise network and become the No.1 good-for-you treat in the world.
“What”™s exciting is that we already have commitments to open more than 300 centers worldwide in the coming years,” Zinke said. “We”™ve opened locations this year in new markets like Houston, Texas; Sarasota, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee and we”™re excited to be opening our first location in other areas by the end of the year including Scottsdale, Arizona Darien, Connecticut; Boca Raton, Florida; and New Rochelle.”
Laifer, a mother of three whose youngest just entered first grade, has had a long relationship with Tasti D-Lite; she ate it almost every day while attending college in Manhattan and even requested pints of her favorite flavor, peanut butter fudge, after the births of all three daughters.
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“I was waiting for one to open here, and one never did,” said Laifer, a New Rochelle resident. “When Tasti corporate restructured themselves, we decided to open one someplace where we knew the market, so this is our test run. We”™re committed to open three in the next couple of years in Westchester as well as Fairfield County, Connecticut. People are excited.”
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But what exactly is Tasti, which comes in more than 100 flavors?
“Tasti is not yogurt and it”™s not ice cream,” Laifer said. “It doesn”™t have yogurt cultures and it”™s not ice cream because ice cream has to have a certain percentage of butter fat, so it is a low calorie, low fat frozen dessert, it”™s dairy-based, it”™s all natural, no artificial sweeteners and blended fresh every day. It”™s a happy place; dessert should be happy. We”™re going to have six flavors; vanilla and chocolate every day and four rotating flavors.”
Anchored by Starbucks and CVS, Laifer is confident that the store will do well in the New Rochelle market.
“It”™s a very high traffic area,” Laifer said. “Down the street we have The Ursuline School, so we already have this huge built-in customer base, and we have Bethel Nursery School, where my kids went to preschool, across the street. As a parent you”™re always looking for something to do with your kids when school ends at 12:30, so it”™s always nice to have a place to come. Starbucks isn”™t always great for 4-year-olds, so something like this is perfect. You have a pizza place next door, coffee next door, all the basic food groups. Tasti is something you really could indulge in every day without feeling guilty.”
“Westchester County is such a ripe market for Tasti, being so close to Manhattan, and we”™re extremely excited that Marc and Yael have seized the opportunity to tap into that area,” said Jim Amos, Tasti D-Lite”™s chairman and CEO. “While we”™re growing our brand across the country and around the world, we still have tremendous potential right in and around our core market of Manhattan and nearby communities like New Rochelle. Marc and Yael clearly share our passion for the product and the brand and have made a significant commitment to be a part of Tasti D-Lite”™s expansion and success. We”™re confident they”™ll be great partners in helping us replicate our model and serve Tasti”™s fanatical fans in the New York Metro area.”
