By Tommy Rowan – The Philadelphia Researcher
PHILADELPHIA – For more than 20 years, Tom Curyto’s voice has greeted travelers crossing the Wildwood and Ocean City boardwalks in New Jersey.
“Come and get a loose pattern of Polish Water Ice,” bellowed the buffalo-dyed accent, “we have flavors: mango, cherry, blue raspberry, chocolate and much more. “
His voice is usually silent.
Polish Water Ice, which now has a total of 15 retail stores, 4 on the Wildwood Parkway and two on the Ocean City Boardwalk, was built on the backs of teenage workers who handed out small white spoons with chunks of water ice that had the consistency of flan without adding dairy. . On a given night, over the course of 12 hours, Curyto estimates that between 2,000 and 5,000 loose samples were distributed to passers-by in each store.
But then came the pandemic. And with fears of disease spread (and potential lawsuits), the store disabled its iconic registry and stopped distributing samples for the 2020 season. And they stored on staff, they no longer needed up to two more people at $15 an hour for 12 hours.
“It’s $300 or $400 in labor alone,” said Curyto, the company’s owner but franchisee of its walking locations, noting that the numbers didn’t take into account the production charge or “machine wear. “
Franchisee Jordan Jodanov operates 3 Polish water ice stands on the Wildwood Parkway, and Udi Hayut operates one. And while preparing for the 2021 season, Jordanov asked about the economics of loose samples:
“Is it worth it?”
Typically, loose pattern marketing, in which a store offers products or leads, works. Especially for food and beverage stores. a few steps away.
Years ago, loose-patterned street vendors were an integral component of the walking aesthetic, promoting clever words and attractive methods to convince travelers of the product before buying their own.
But those are not general times. And a slow season, and with a possible recession looming, some travel companies are contemplating cutting prices by eliminating loose samples. A decision initially motivated by the virus, it has now become a decision based on prices.
Jordanov measured his words.
“We no longer give away loose samples,” he said in an email. “And they will come back. “
And he’s not alone.
The Original Fudge Kitchen to remove street vendors from loose samples in 2021 as the pandemic progressed, and after Karen Thompson became the new owner of the Shore pillar, adding it to her list of retail outlets at LSL Brands.
For years, the Bogle brothers’ address, Fudge’s street vendor status in front of their windows, and holding trays of vanilla and chocolate squares pierced with toothpicks were a summer rite on the New Jersey coast.
Now, in Wildwood, only one of its two retail outlets on the waterfront distributes samples, and you have to walk into the store and ask. And procedures exist for the six sites on the Jersey Shore.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence to recommend that COVID-19 can be spread through food, but the company has given the main points about sample distribution.
According to the state Department of Health, New Jersey’s retail food regulations make no difference between manipulating food patterns and foods that are for sale. Among the regulations, street vendors of patterns will be required to wash their hands before distributing patterns, have access to disposable gloves or dispense utensils such as toothpicks, and street vendors cannot touch food with bare hands. Cups, spoons and other single-dose appliances suitable for offering the patterns shall be provided.
But some corporations persist despite the economic dangers.
The owner of Crazy Junky Pizza, who asked to be known only as “Mr. H,” said he contemplated not making loose samples this year due to COVID-19, but considered it mandatory to use samples to attract potential customers.
“I just opened the pizzeria this year and I need other people to check my food,” he said. “It’s very effective. “
He sends Abdul Abham, 22, to hold a tray of small squares of pizza glued with toothpicks outside the store on wildwood Driveway.
Last Sunday, of status among the crowd of holidaymakers, Abham presented samples to passers-by, nodding to the store only himself.
“Sausage, nature,” he said, “everything is fine. “
Recently, the Polish franchise Water Ice approached Roberts Avenue to resurrect the recording and continues to offer loose samples on the boardwalk.
“About two weeks ago, I brought him back,” Hayut said last Sunday, opening the store he has run as a franchisee for 15 years. “The business has been slow. “
By Tommy Rowan
The Philadelphia Researcher
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