A Jewel in Rye’s Restaurant Crown
Every day we are assaulted with a new cleanse, weight-loss miracle, or workout routine to get us beach-bod ready for summer. For many of us, it’s health and wellness hell.
Why does every new Purchase Street restaurant have to be non-GMO, pure green stuff? What if all this “wellness, wellness, wellness” talk is bringing us closer to revolution? What if your neighbor’s constant “I lost 15 pounds!” chirping is finally taking its toll? What if all that green juice you’re swallowing is starting to make you see red?
Well, then, Berkshire Hathaway may be on to something. And as you well know, it wouldn’t be the first time.
This summer, the company known for its massive holdings in wellness-rejectors like the Coca-Cola Corporation, Kraft-Heinz, and Mondelez International (Chips Ahoy, Ritz, Triscuit, to name three of their artery-clogging best sellers) is looking to milk-shake things up on Purchase Street with their version of “counterculture,” which just happens to involve creating culture around a literal counter. After hearing about a vacant lot at 972 Purchase Street, the Warren Buffett–led private equity giant has decided to bring Dairy Queen, the crown jewel of their empire, to Rye.
Berkshire Hathaway is banking on this health craze being a “mere trend.” Their VP of Global Sales is betting big that Dairy Queen is going to be the first of many classic Americana restaurants making a resurgence in towns like Rye. Speaking with The Rye Record, James McGregor Olsen said, “We’ve seen amazing results from our DQ locations in other affluent, upscale areas like Doha and Riyadh. Strategically speaking, we open across the street from health-food-restaurants, because we’ve found that when someone is standing in line to order a vegan something-or-other and looks out the window and sees happy people chomping down on cheeseburgers, they run for the hills. We think Rye is the perfect next move for us.”
JM Olsen went on to explain that consumer research has proven residents in these areas who feel overwhelmed by the incessant health and wellness chatter are ready to rebel and “they’re ready to rebel with a double patty, jalapeno bacon, pepper jack cheese DQ fiery FlameThrower and a Cookie Dough Blizzard.”
DQ, apparently, also saw great potential in the location because of “tremendous outdoor seating opportunities.” The chain wants to create the first-ever large-scale restaurant on Purchase Street and use the outdoor seating areas as a chance to bring droves of out-of-town residents closer to Rye residents. Further, Berkshire Hathaway sees the DQ location as an opportunity to “up” their BH Real Estate presence in Westchester and will use DQ entryways as satellite locations for their brokers to discuss listings with potential clients. We spoke to one BH broker who remarked, “It’s truly genius. People walk in expecting a 6-Piece Chicken Strip Basket but end up walking out with 6 appointments to see Rye properties.”
