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Ray's Candy Store Gets Boost from Facebook and Foursquare

By Patrick Hedlund

DNAinfo News Editor

EAST VILLAGE — The cramped storefront housing neighborhood mainstay Ray's Candy Store may still appear much the way it did back when it opened in 1974, but a younger generation of tech-savvy locals is helping propel the mom-and-pop business into the digital age.

The longtime Avenue A shop has been a hub for locals and burlesque dancers for years, but despite the devoted following, 78-year-old owner Ray Alvarez only narrowly avoided eviction last year after falling behind on his rent.

Since then, the shop has been getting a promotional boost from popular social-networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.

The digital boost comes courtesy of local fans like Matt Rosen, an Internet start-up consultant who lives around the corner from the store.

Rosen helped organize a benefit for Alvarez last year and saw an opportunity to further fundraise for the shop by selling Ray's-themed merchandise online.

Realizing how plugged in local residents were in terms of social media, he launched a Twitter feed and Facebook page for Ray's to help stoke the interest of an entirely new population of East Villagers.

"I just think it's so cool that these tools are available to these [small] businesses," said Rosen, 30, who advertises food specials at the store on Foursquare and personally responds to Ray's nearly 300 followers on Twitter.

"If we can get Ray on the map, anybody can do it."

This evolution is somewhat of an adjustment for Alvarez, who spends more time making old-fashioned egg creams and hand-cutting potatoes for his trademark Belgian fries than tweeting and monitoring friend requests.

"I read in the Wall Street Journal that Twitter's really getting big," he said on a recent night at his 24-hour shop near East 7th Street, where he works the overnight shift. "I get more business now from young people."

He explained that a group of about 10 college students recently stopped in after reading about the store online.

"They heard about me online, so they were curious," he said. "They wanted to know, 'Hey, are you Ray?'"

Alvarez praises the impact Rosen's online efforts have had on his business — calling him and other supporters who help get the word out "my grandchildren" — but at the end of the day he focuses mainly on keeping his menu fresh and relevant for patrons.

But interacting with customers through social-networking sites has been an invaluable exercise for Rosen, who noted that if he can accumulate a dozen or so new Twitter followers or Facebook friends each month, it translates into much-needed dollars for Alvarez to make his rent.

"You're able to engage people on a one-on-one basis," Rosen said. "I love how granular you can get in targeting stuff."

For instance, he thanks followers via Twitter for writing online reviews, posts pictures of new menu items like beignets and fried Oreos, and reaches out to food publications to encourage them to stop by.

When Rosen saw a magazine article didn't include Ray's on list of the top 10 places to go for cheap late-night eats, he tweeted the author and got the store added.

All of the recent interest in Ray's has made the shop a sort of tourist destination, and Alvarez said guides are now contacting him to ask about bringing large groups through the store. A tweet or Facebook post can bring a horde of hungry fans running, Rosen said.

"People will say, that's great, I'll be right down," he said, adding that he's not looking to take on any more pro-bono clients.

"I can't do this for every business. I do it as a labor of love, really."