Desert Moon featured in Home News Tribune

Home News Tribune reporter Ken Serrano spoke with local Desert Moon franchisee Rankesh Patel about his entrepreneurial background, his life passion and his former Bollywood career. Patel, although only 29, has already experienced more than most do in a lifetime. His current undertaking: Business owner of Desert Moon in Franklin. Learn more about the story here!

For Piscataway man, a growing business and a Hindi film career on hold
by KEN SERRANO

Franklin (Somerset) — When Rankesh Patel came to the United States from India at age 14 in 1996, he did not attend high school.

Instead, he worked in family businesses and then, aiming for a career in Hindi film, he attended the New York Film Academy, going to evening workshops for acting in his spare time.

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Franchisee Profile: Peter Spagnuolo from White Plains, NY

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: I live in White Plains now and grew up in Hastings, which is along the Hudson River.

Q: Before Franchising, what were you involved with?
A: I am attorney, still practicing. I’ve been practicing law for 19 years in the bankruptcy and real estate sectors. About three years ago, I started looking at ways to expand my portfolio. I am an entrepreneur at heart and I wanted to grow a business that was my own. I took over the Desert Moon in White Plains in 2008 after I found out it was for sale. I thought Mexican food would be a great segment to be involved with as it’s one of the fastest growing food segments in the nation and Desert Moon was my niece’s favorite restaurant. Since purchasing Desert Moon, I have added two other food concepts to my portfolio.

Q: Why was this brand the right fit for you?
A: It all came down to the quality and freshness of the food. When you have a good product, people will naturally come and I felt passionate that Desert Moon was the right choice based on that criteria. Fortunately my gut instinct was right. My location is in the mall and it is one of the most popular choices among mall shoppers. People often reference how fresh our food is compared to other mall food court options. Desert Moon gives mall shoppers a healthy alternative. This year we will probably install the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, which will offer customers a wide selection of beverage options. Desert Moon corporately is also focused on helping its franchisees explore new innovations for their locations, which was another reason I felt comfortable being a franchisee with the brand.

Q: How do you see the brand connecting with your local community?
A: I make it a point to contribute to local nonprofits that approaches us for a donation. I believe it’s valuable for Desert Moon to be ingrained in the community and for Desert Moon to be synonymous with community involvement. I plan on sponsoring a little league team this year as well.

Desert Moon featured in Home News Tribune

Desert Moon of Franklin Park was just featured in the Home News Tribune about local entrepreneur, Purvang Patel. Purvang shares his personal triumphs to become a business owner in the United States – immigrating from India at the age of 9. He thus found franchising a great way to pursue his business ownership dreams and opened a Desert Moon in the fall of last year. Read more about his process of opening a franchise and his personal success story here!

Entrepreneur follows his dream under a Desert Moon
Written by GENE RACZ

FRANKLIN (SOMERSET)— A confluence of factors prompted Purvang Patel to open his own Desert Moon franchise in Franklin Park.

The 31-year-old from Piscataway said he always wanted to be his own boss, and he had a friend who was successfully operating a Desert Moon franchise across town — serving fresh Southwestern/Mexican food that Patel really liked.

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