Patrick DeLaRosa had just gotten out of the Army and was looking for mid-level management positions in the Savannah area when one of his friends said something that gave him a cold, sweet epiphany.
“‘Man, I really wish there was a Bruster’s around,’” DeLaRosa recalled his friend saying. DeLaRosa had fond memories himself of the Bruster’s Real Ice Cream chain, started in 1989 in Pennsylvania, and he soon began looking into opening his own franchise in Savannah.
Bruster’s now has 210 stores along the East Coast, with more than 50 in the Atlanta market alone, yet DeLaRosa’s franchise on 1801 E. Victory Drive is the first in Coastal Georgia and one of the few to be inside a shopping complex as opposed to a free-standing location.
In another first for Bruster’s, the Savannah location is serving as a test market for the company’s new line of frozen yogurt and fruit smoothie offerings, a sector of the market its CEO Jim Sahene knows well.
Forefather of frozen yogurt
Sahene is the former president of froyo pioneer TCBY, and whose career with the company spanned from 1986-2000, when it was sold to Mrs. Fields’ Holding Co. after a period of decline.
From 2001-11 TCBY shuttered more than 1,300 stores, leaving it with just more than 400, a result of rapidly changing consumer tastebuds, according to Sahene.
Sahene, who owned five franchises himself in the Pittsburgh area, said he oversaw the quick rise of TCBY during the ’80s health craze only to watch it fizzle as Americans started eating more indulgently during the economic prosperity of the mid- to late-’90s.
“I wouldn’t want a stand-alone frozen yogurt shop again,” said Sahene, who believes the strength of Bruster’s is in the diversity of its offerings, both fat and low fat.
After leaving TCBY, ice cream was still in Sahene’s blood. In 2002, he joined Bruster’s and started to oversee its operations in a much more competitive market with Cold Stone Creamery, Marble Slab and Ben & Jerry’s.
Sahene said its strategy is based on offering diverse and quality products, including ice cream cakes, shakes, sundaes, homemade waffle cones and its staple: freshly made ice cream using milk from its own Pennsylvania dairy farms.
Sahene is not exactly surprised by the resurgence of froyo, but has the hindsight not to rush into any food fad. He says depending on how well it does in Savannah, it may introduce the froyo line and toppings bar to other locations.
He’s facing a crowded field with chains like Pinkberry and Sweet Frog dotting the landscape. Yet it’s a growing market, allowing even TCBY to stage a comeback by switching to a more self-service model.
Sahene said he’s confident of Bruster’s product and ability to compete, especially in Savannah’s sunny climate.
“Our customers come to us happy, not hungry,” said Sahene.