The taste of success

A “Tasti fix” is part of the lingo in Manhattan.

Calorie-conscious New York City women often substitute a “Tasti fix” for lunch. People wait in line to get their “Tasti fix.” Broadway stars pop in for a “Tasti fix.” Even the girls of “Sex and the City” got their “Tasti fix” on the 2004 episode, “The Ick Factor.”

Translation: “I’m craving a Tasti D-Lite frozen dessert.”

Longboat Key residents Irwin and Sylvia Pastor and their son, Scott, 41, a St. Armands resident, say the Sarasota area is ready for its “Tasti fix,” even though many locals aren’t familiar with the Tasti D-Lite brand.

In May, the family opened a Tasti D-Lite franchise in Sarasota’s Westfield Southgate Shopping Center.
Three weeks later, on June 18, they opened a second shop on St. Armands Circle.

The locations are the first two Florida Tasti D-Lite franchises. Florida has one other Tasti D-Lite, a corporate-owned store in Miami Beach.

Tasti D-Lite has big plans for Florida. Over the next five years, the company hopes to open 90 franchises in the state. The company has asked the Pastors to become the official developers for Florida, an idea the family is considering.

And, in the next five years, Tasti D-Lite officials hope to expand from its current 64 locations worldwide to more than 500.

So, what exactly is Tasti D-Lite?

It’s not ice cream. According to the Food and Drug Administration, ice cream contains at least 10% butterfat, compared to Tasti D-Lite’s 1.5%. And reduced-fat and non-fat ice creams contain approximately 20 grams of carbs per serving, compared to Tasti D-Lite’s 14 grams per 4-ounce serving.

It’s not frozen yogurt. It doesn’t contain yogurt or yogurt cultures.

It’s made with all-natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners.

Like ice cream, it can be served in a waffle cone, but it’s usually sold in the signature Tasti D-Lite paper cup.

It has more than 100 flavors, and the most popular flavors are anything with peanut butter.

The Pastors’ business cards read:

“Irwin Pastor, President. Favorite flavor: Strawberry.”

“Sylvia Pastor, Vice President. Favorite flavor: Peanut butter mousse mellow.”

“Scott Pastor, General Manager. Favorite flavor: French vanilla and Dutch chocolate.”

And Scott Pastor’s fiancée, Keely Williams’, card reads: “Assistant General Manager. Favorite flavor: Pina colada.”

The chain also sells smoothies, milkshakes, cakes and square-shaped pies.

The chain’s motto is: “Dessert your guilt.”

“It’s in a category by itself,” Irwin Pastor said.

‘The perfect storm’
Irwin and Sylvia Pastor had recently retired when they discovered Tasti D-Lite.

They had owned and operated Pepsi-Cola Buffalo Bottling Corp. since 1963. Scott Pastor got his start working in the family business sweeping the warehouse floors when he was 10 and, eventually, moved up to sales.

Irwin and Sylvia Pastor sold the business in 2002, although Irwin Pastor continued to do consulting work for the company. They began spending nine months per year in their Longboat Key home and the remaining three months in their Manhattan condominium. Scott Pastor stayed in New York, where he brokered sports contracts and owned businesses, including a limousine company and a waxing studio.

Approximately six years ago, Irwin and Sylvia Pastor began to notice the lines in Manhattan. They formed every day at the Tasti D-Lite near their home.

Curious, they decided one night to take a walk over to see what the fuss was about.

It was love at first bite.

In a word: “Delicious,” Irwin Pastor said.

They were instant fans of the taste, as well as the nutritional value.

Soon, Tasti D-Lite became a part of the Pastors’ Manhattan routine, and they began stopping in two or three times each week.

The Pastors kept an eye on Tasti D-Lite’s growth. In late 2007 and early 2008, Scott Pastor began to consider opening a business in the Sarasota area so that he could be closer to his parents. Sylvia Pastor suggested that a Tasti D-Lite shop might fare well in the area.

She missed the frozen treats when she came to Longboat Key and couldn’t get used to eating regular ice cream.

“I thought the Sarasota area could use a healthy alternative,” she said.

The Pastors studied the demographics of the area and the profile of the typical Tasti D-Lite customer.

Tasti D-Lite customers tend to be older, health-conscious and affluent.

“Our feeling was that Sarasota was a perfect demographic,” Scott Pastor said.

As the family researched the company, they learned that the timing was right. In January 2008, the private-equity firm, SPG Partners LLC, had purchased Tasti D-Lite from the Carlesimo family, which founded the chain. SPG Partners planned to franchise the company.

“It was what you call ‘the perfect storm,’” Irwin Pastor said.

At first, the Pastors considered opening a single store on St. Armands Circle, which they thought would be a prime spot for drawing tourists and residents of Longboat and its surrounding keys.

But the Pastors wanted to saturate the market, making Tasti D-Lite a household name in the Sarasota area.
Knowing that local residents often don’t venture as far as the Circle, particularly during tourist season, they decided to open a mainland location as well.

According to Irwin Pastor, Tasti D-Lite doesn’t typically have locations in shopping malls but aims instead for high-end shopping areas. But after looking at Westfield Southgate Shopping Center, Irwin Pastor said he thought of it as a “fashion mall” with stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s that attract the demographic they wanted.

But Southgate officials weren’t interested in Tasti D-Lite.

Irwin Pastor said officials told him they weren’t interested in “another ice cream store.” So he suggested they research the company. Approximately 24 hours later, they called him back expressing interest.

The Pastors hired 18 “tasteologists” from a pool of nearly 300 applicants. Those tasteologists — like all Tasti D-Lite staff members — underwent two weeks of training, learning nutritional information.

They have to know instantly, for example, if a flavor contains gluten and how many calories it contains.
They also have to be able to tell customers their favorite flavor.

The preparation paid off on opening day at Westfield Southgate. Due to a family emergency, the Pastors couldn’t be there, so the staff served 400 customers by themselves. Things ran even more smoothly when the St. Armands store opened, and more than 600 customers were served.

Since then, Irwin Pastor says that sales each day have been stronger than the day before. On Father’s Day, both stores sold out of cakes. Now, a line is common at both stores, because the popularity is growing.
Already, the Pastors are hiring more employees.

A taste of things to come
The Pastors continue to consider becoming the official Florida developers for Tasti D-Lite. They might open additional franchises, as well.

Both the Pastors and Tasti D-Lite are eyeing other parts of the state that have demographics similar to the Sarasota area, such as Venice, Naples and the Tampa Bay area, but are also considering additional franchises in the Sarasota-Manatee area.

But demographics aren’t the only key factor in the company’s growth. While at first Tasti D-Lite tends to become popular with affluent segments of the population, eventually the masses catch on to the product.

In Manhattan, Tasti D-Lite’s popularity began with the higher-end crowd.

“Now, everyone from Harlem, all the way to the Upper East Side is eating Tasti D-Lite,” Irwin Pastor said. “In New York, it crosses the demographic.”

He also says that the younger population has been drawn to the product. Here, he has noticed lots of strollers in the stores. Parents want to introduce their children to a healthy dessert alternative.

The Pastors say that the biggest challenge is showing people how Tasti D-Lite is different from ice cream and frozen yogurt. If a customer refers to the product as “ice cream” a tasteologist will politely tell him or her why it isn’t ice cream.

Already, Irwin Pastor sees signs that customers are taking note.

One night last week, a couple came into the St. Armands store. They had stopped at the Westfield Southgate location first, but because the mall closes at 8 p.m., they drove six miles down Tamiami Trail, across the John Ringling Causeway, to the circle location, which closes at 11 p.m.

They needed their “Tasti fix.”

Top this

Tasti D-Lite General Manager Scott Pastor is open to customer requests when it comes to adding toppings.
So far, he has added Gummi Bears, pecans, Spanish nuts and Butterfingers.

But the most frequently requested topping addition has been licorice. European tourists often request it, because it is a common ice-cream topping in their home countries.
Pastor plans to add licorice to the selection.