After 13 years of working in a delicatessen in Merrick, Debra Foy decided she needed a change.
So she responded to a newspaper ad and bought the Yogurt & Such Cafe franchise store at 1018 Willis Ave. in Albertson. She’s been operating the store since September.
“It was kind of unique. I knew it was in a really nice neighborhood,” Foy said. “I knew I had to do something different.”
Foy said she was pleased to find that the Albertson Yogurt & Such sold salads, wraps, paninis and cakes for special occasions, unlike other Yogurt & Such stores that sell only yogurt. She had spent several summers working at the Friends Academy in Locust Valley and was already familiar with the area.
Foy had been a daytime manager for a deli in Merrick for 13 years and enjoyed working in the food service business.
“There’s a variety of people that you meet,” she said.
Her working career began years ago in the retail business as a buyer for Mark Cross in Manhattan. After several years in that position, she retired to raise a family. Her three sons are grown now and she said she saw the Yogurt & Such store as a good investment – and a business one of her sons might be interested in joining.
Foy said the transition from her deli job has been a relatively smooth one.
“I’ve traded my turkey sandwiches for a large cappuccino with cookie dough on the side,” she said.
Foy said she faced one “tumultuous” period of transition in the week-long power outage that occurred during and after Hurricane Sandy. She had bought a generator the weekend before the storm struck and was able to keep the store’s yogurt frozen by running the generator for five or six hours daily before she’d have to go hunting for gas to refuel it.
“I kind of slept here day and night to keep my yogurt frozen and make sure the generator wasn’t stolen,” she recalled.
Foy said she got through the hurricane’s aftermath while adjusting to “being totally responsible for everything.” And she enjoys interacting with the same customers who regularly patronize the store.
“It’s the kind of store where it’s easy to do that, to walk around and talk to your customers every day,” she said.
Foy plans to add to the store’s variety of food selections this month by cooking breakfast meals, including eggs waffles and homemade muffins. She already added one change in service, offering free delivery in the local area.
She said she’s eager to become involved in the community. She has joined the Chamber of Commerce of the Willistons and plans on joining the Rotary of Williston Park. And so far, she said the store has met her expectations.
“It’s everything I thought it was going to be,” Foy said.
