SamPratt.com

White Rice is about to become the latest area business to cross the New York-Massachusetts border, opening a satellite location in Great Barrington to complement their huge Hudson store. The second White Rice location will be located on Main Street, several doors south of the corner of Railroad Street, and is expected to open in the next 10-14 days.

As previously reported here, Baba Louie’s (the hugely successful organic pizza joint which began in Barrington) added a second location in Hudson several years ago, and recently announced plans to expand back over the border again with a third location in Pittsfield. Hammertown Barn, which unfortunately lost its prime Hudson lease some years ago, similarly has had stores in both Dutchess and Berkshire counties for a good while now. Meanwhile, Mexican Radio in Hudson is expanding north to Schenectady, already having NYC and Hudson locations. Until recently, Dan Seward’s Jean Deux was operating in both Hudson and Northhampton.

This would appear to be a part of a general trend toward regional franchising. What works in Barrington would seem to have a decent shot at working in Hudson, or in Northhampton, or in Rhinebeck, et al. It wouldn't be surprising if there were eventually a Baba Louie’s Williamstown, and a White Rice Burlington, and a Mexican Radio Millerton.

The one concern is that such expansion not happen too rapidly, bringing a whole series of stores down—as happened to the Muddy Cup franchise which began in Staten Island, opened a Hudson version, and then expanded exponentially to Saugerties, Albany, New Paltz, et al., and now has mostly collapsed. Organic growth, step by step, would seem the safer route.