“We both went to St. Johns University, which is where we met” says Lois. “We were young and I noticed a trend,” adds Richard. “People wanted to eat better. At that time, nobody ate salads or yogurt for lunch. So while we were still in college we created Everything Yogurt to meet that need and were the first to open a frozen yogurt shop.” They launched the store on Wall Street in 1976.
“That was just the beginning. Then we opened a South Philly cheese steak shop, a hot dog operation, and more.” They grew to over 250 franchises and in 2003 they sold the chain.
“Early on, we needed office space,” says Lois, “but there was no class-A office space on Staten Island, so we built an office building. Before that, if you wanted an office in Staten Island, you had to find a house on a major road and turn it into an office.
“We built the first building, leased it out 100%, then built others. Then we made The Corporate Park. It’s on one unique street with no retail stores or fast food restaurants, only our office buildings, our two hotels, and our restaurant, the Commons café, where we give all profits to charity.”