A decade ago, Deb Kostisin signed a franchise agreement with us to open the first Edible Arrangements store in the state of Rhode Island. This was long before the brand had become the household name it is today. In other words, Deb was taking a bold chance on something that was still in the early stages. I’m proud today to see that her daring has paid off, and also proud to say that she recently renewed that original Providence store.
From the time she originally opened the store, Deb’s goal was to have her husband Ted run the operations. At the time, he was working very long hours managing a large restaurant which was extremely busy. After signing for their second store, Ted decided to quit the restaurant business and join Edible Arrangements full time. Thanks to Deb it was, as he described it, the best decision he ever made.
We have some of the most amazing franchisees in our system, and Deb is way up there near the top. I can still remember our meeting more than ten years ago at a diner, when I first talked to her about buying a franchise. To see her where she is today, with four stores—including our 1000th store in Cranston, Rhode Island–is truly gratifying. We literally couldn’t do it without franchisees like the Kostisins.
In 2011, they were named Edible Arrangement’s Franchisee of the Year at our annual Convention. Seeing their success over the years, including the renewal of their original store, it’s very easy to understand why.
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