This past summer, award-winning PDQ restaurant (eatPDQ.com) opened its first restaurant in the greater New York tri-state region.
The chicken-centric chain, which stands for People Dedicated to Quality and was launched in 2011 by Bob Basham (a founder of Outback Steakhouse) and Nick Reader (a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers CFO), now has nearly 60 locations in five states. The Farmingdale, Broadhollow Road unit is owned and operated by prominent New York restaurateur Dean Poll together with local successful businessman Thomas J. Fanning, Sr.
Coming off several major fine dining restaurant successes, Poll and Fanning, Sr. were so impressed by the PDQ menu and its operating philosophy they decided to make their first-ever venture into the fast casual segment.
Poll and Fanning, Sr. believe that PDQ’s variety of chicken with hand-breaded fresh chicken tenders, hand-crafted sandwiches, made-to-order salads and more represents the future of fast food — and the Long Island marketplace is underserved.
Two key issues which set PDQ’s chicken apart from its competitors:
– All chicken is FRESH, never frozen like most competitors use.
– PDQ proactively engages the greater Farmingdale/Route 110 community by its enthusiastic support of special events for schools, non-profit groups, and neighborhood organizations.
Explains PDQ Farmingdale’s Operating Director MT Francisco: “We pride ourselves on giving back to the community because residents connected to Farmingdale, Amityville, Massapequa, Old Bethpage, and Melville have been loyal guests responsible for our success.”
Examples of special event fundraisers where PDQ has contributed food product include:
– The Amityville School District, Class of 2020
– The Farmingdale School District faculty
– The SUNY-Farmingdale staff and faculty
– The “Long Island Fight For Charity”
– The Amityville Breast Cancer Walk
– The Life’s WORC/Family Center For Autism Chef’s Tasting
The most recent “case study” is how the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Island (Hicksville, East Norwich, Glen Cove) are now receiving several hundred dollars as part of a national PDQ CHICKEN fundraising campaign, which is providing nearly $70,000 to local Boys & Girls Clubs across the country.
“PDQ likes to partner with local groups and nonprofits where we can donate our products and tailor a program to help them fundraise,” said Francisco. “Beyond giving our guests a wonderful experience through our fresh food, we want them to know that their support and loyalty of PDQ is consistently given back through a variety of community organization enhancements from our ‘People Dedicated to Quality’.
