Edible Arrangements in Springfi eld Gardens
holds long-awaited grand opening celebration
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
The long-awaited ribboncutting
ceremony of the Edible
Arrangements store at
219-25 North Conduit Ave. in
Springfield Gardens finally
took place on Aug. 26.
Surrounded by family,
friends and elected officials,
including Queens Deputy
Borough President Rhonda
Binda and state Senator Leroy
Comrie, Ali Baig, the
22-year-old Edible Arrangements
store owner, was excited
to make it “official” after
the COVID-19 pandemic
delayed the grand opening by
eight months.
Even Tariq Farid, founder
and CEO of Edible Arrangements
International, didn’t
miss the chance to attend the
ceremony of one of his franchise
stores that in only eight
months became one of the top
10 performing stores with a
revenue of almost $1 million.
Baig invited the company’s
top executives to the
grand opening and thought,
“Hey, why don’t I add Mr.
Farid to this email list. He’s a
busy guy, but if he responds,
it would be a pleasure.'”
Within 15 minutes, Baig
received a response from
Farid.
“I didn’t sleep for like
three hours that night,” Baig
shared. “I couldn’t believe it
when I saw the email that he
would be coming to my store,
because he’s responsible for
over 1,000 locations.”
Farid, a longtime advocate
for entrepreneurship, said
that he “was blown away”
when he saw Baig’s invitation.
“Most people either will
think, ‘Oh, he’s busy and
can’t participate.’ But for me,
everything is store because I
started out with a single store
in East Haven, Connecticut,”
Farid now has has over
1,000 locations worldwide and
generates over $600 million
in revenue annually.
“I had heard Ali Baig’s
name and the things he was
doing. As soon as it came in,
I’m like, ‘Hell, I’ll be there. I
can’t wait,'” Farid said.
Baig admitted that he was
nervous about opening the store
Ali Baig, family, friends and community representatives celebrate the opening of his Edible Arrangements store with a delayed ribboncutting
ceremony. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
but Edible Arrangements International
saw incredible growth
during the crisis.
He also credits his parents
with his success.
“My parents have been
a great inspiration for me,”
Baig said. “They always told
me, ‘Put your heart into anything
you decide to do. Put
your mind into it.’ And that’s
something that I thought was
really valuable.”
The Atlanta-based company,
known for selling freshfruit
bouquets, added the sale
of baked goods, fresh produce
and birthday cards to its
lineup in 2020. They saw an
increase of 45 percent in sales
last year, despite the COVID
19 pandemic.
“The one nice thing about
our system is that we’ve always
had that concept of
celebrating people’s special
moments,” Farid explained.
“And it’s beautiful to kind
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | SEPT. 17 - SEPT. 23, 2021
of join in on that. There are
always special moments.
People, even in the most difficult
of times, will always
celebrate birthdays.”
It is also vital for Ali Baig
to give back to the community.
He has partnered with
the Southeast Queens Chamber
of Commerce (SEQCOC)
to beautify and revitalize untended
public areas of southeast
Queens.
One of the projects includes
restoring Van Wyck
Subway Public Park in Jamaica,
designed by Jean-
Hans Fulcher of Fulcher Design
International.
Rev. Dr. Simone Lord,
founder and CEO of SEQCOC,
said that Baig was “making a
difference.”
“I was very happy to partner
up with Ali and his family
because they really inspired
me. They are helping me to
make these unkept areas of
southeast Queens beautiful
again,” Dr. Lord said.
State Senator Leroy Comrie
noted that Edible Arrangements
was a minorityowned
brand. Referring to
Farid, Comrie said that it was
“a big deal” when the owner
of a national brand attended
the ribbon-cutting of one of
his franchise stores.
“The world is about
change,” Comrie said. “But
what is consistent is the ability
of people to come together
to focus on achieving a goal
and to work hard together.”
Queens Deputy Borough
President Rhonda Binda said
that it was great to see so
many businesses opening in
Queens, which showed the resilience
of a community that
was the “epicenter of the epicenter”
during the height of
the COVID-19 crisis.
“We’re so happy to see our
minority-owned businesses
thrive,” Binda said.
Farrukh and Bushra Baig,
Ali Baig’s parents, who have
been helping out at the store,
were beaming with pride.
Farrukh Baig, a longtime
entrepreneur, said that it is
always a parent’s desire to
see their son follow in their
footsteps.
“Today is a dream come
true that Ali stood in front
of the owner of the company.
And he introduced him.
That’s like a dream come
true,” the senior Baig said.
“We are very, very proud of
our son.”
Ali Baig’s mother, Bushra
Baig, added that they were
proud of their son and were
proud to be part of the Queens
community.
“It’s such a diverse community
here in Queens,”
Bushra Baid said. “We personally
wanted to get involved
and let people know it’s like a
family because America is a
land of opportunity, and this
is where it starts.”
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