Tasti-D-Lite coming to Maryland

Liz Farmer//August 30, 2010//

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If you’re a “Sex and the City” fan — or if you’ve just ever set foot in Manhattan — you’ve probably heard of Tasti-D-Lite, the frozen yogurt shop.

Now the New York-based company is opening its first Maryland location as part of its plans to expand to 500 locations in the next five years.

According to a news release, mid-Atlantic franchise owner Ben Pascal wants to open 12 to 15 shops in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia in the next five years and has selected the Park Plaza shopping center in Severna Park for the region’s first Tasti-D. The location will also serve as the local headquarters and operations center.

So far so good, right?

As a frequent fro-yo shop patron, I can personally attest to the popularity of this growing trend. One company I think really does it right is Yogiberry, which has a small footprint and recently switched its operations to self serve to minimize labor costs. On Friday nights this summer, I’ve watched the Yogiberry in Rockville easily handle 100 customers in an hour.

Now here’s the “but” part of this blog. Tasti-D’s Maryland launch is planned for late October. Call me crazy, but after the weather gets consistently cold, frozen yogurt is the last thing on my mind. I may be spending roughly $7 a week on my frozen yogurt excursions now but after October that number will fall to a big fat zero.

So you tell me: Is it a good idea to launch a cold desserts shop when demand for the product could start to slow?