Ritesh Patel was
born in India and came to New York in 1995 Ritesh lived in New York for 16
years where he owned a convenient store/deli
and a calling card wholesale company. By 2011, Ritesh was ready for a change
and moved to Pittsburgh for a franchise opportunity. A couple friends had TCBY
locations in other states so he started looking into the concept himself.
Ritesh is married with two kids.
What are some benefits regarding why customers should come
to a TCBY?
Most of our products are 98%
fat free, no sugar added products, and 80-90% of the products are also gluten
free. At our store, we’ll have six machines, with 18 total flavor
options (12 flavors and six swirls) paired with 50 toppings. Plus, we’ll also
have a non-dairy option every day for lactose intolerant individuals such as a
sorbet. Most of our neighborhood is middle-age people, and likely very familiar
with TCBY from years ago, so we’re hoping us coming back to the community will
be exciting for everyone.
Why did you choose
an opportunity with TCBY?
It really came down to the quality of the yogurt itself
as well as what the product stands for as a classic frozen yogurt brand. I
sampled other ‘froyo’ brands, actually looking into 15 total franchises, and
TCBY tasted the best.
With additional TCBY locations in Cranberry, PA (90+ miles
from Pittsburgh) and Murrysville, PA (under 20 miles), it’s exciting to be
opening the first location within the city of Pittsburgh itself.
Are you involved
with any charities or do any community outreach with your business?
As part of our build-out, we have a 60 square foot play
area that will be part of the store. Area organizations are certainly welcome
to utilize the space for free for fun interaction or reading activities when
they come into the store. For example, the local library has a reading program,
and they can come in and use the space.
What challenges
have you overcome to get where you are now?
It took over a year to find the perfect location, so it
has been quite a complex situation to get things going.
How many employees
do you plan to have when you open?
We’ll have eight to 10 employees when we open our doors,
which will be considered our full staff at this time.
What are your
expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with TCBY?
We want to open more locations. I also have a Mrs. Fields
Cookies location that is open in Pittsburgh, so next year, we’re looking to add
TCBY to that location.
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