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FOREWORD BY JAMES C. METZGER

‘‘Butch started with one ice cream truck, and now he owns a sprawling hospitality empire. His company, The Dover Group, is a bit like Procter & Gamble to Long Islanders. People know the brands, but they probably don’t think about or know who the parent company is. Ask a local about Peter’s Clam House; “Oh yeah, in Island Park. Great place, the best seafood. I’ve been going there as-long-as I can remember.” What about The Milleridge Inn?

“My brother got married there.” Or The Malibu Beach Club? “One of the best beaches on Long Island, and we have the best.” Did you know they are all owned by the same guy? “No, really? Who is he?” Butch Yamali and his company is called The Dover Group. I’m honored and proud to be working with Butch handling the risk management and insurance for a dozen of his companies. Not only is the work we do for him and his employees important, but it’s also fun. Whenever you are at one of Butches places, you’re never more than an arm’s length away from someone who has a big smile on their face.”

BORN IN LONG BEACH, NY AND GROWING up in Island Park, Butch Yamali could have been a prime candidate to race off Long Island the first chance he got. Instead, he saw almost unlimited opportunity in Nassau County and beyond.

BY PATRICK SHANNON

WHEN YOU’RE AT ONE OF BUTCH’S PLACES OR EVENTS, YOU’RE NEVER MORE THAN AN ARM’S LENGTH AWAY FROM SOMEONE WITH A BIG SMILE

Elizabeth Hashagen, Anchor, News 12 Long Island, with Butch Yamali

According to Yamali, “I believe you can always judge a person’s character on how hard they work.”

As a teenager, Yamali was introduced to regular half days of work, just twelve hours, at his father’s specialty shop, Dover Gourmet. Rather than creating a distaste for the hospitality business, it set the stage for a career mostly making something out of nothing or fixing and rebuilding broken food service establishments and brands.

Yamali’s start was as innocent as a vanilla ice cream cone and perhaps just a matter of circumstance. It was the late 80’s and he was hired to work on an ice cream truck that was rented by a local community organization for an afternoon event. Reflecting on making maybe $100 for a day’s work, he took the experience and the money and invested in his own ice cream truck. His first event netted him $2,000 and Carnival Ice Cream was on a roll.

One truck became more than 50 and further grew with a licensing / distribution agreement with Good Humor Ice Cream. Carnival Ice Cream is Long Island’s largest ice cream distributor and is the official distributor of Good Humor Ice Cream, Breyers, Ben & Jerry’s, and Sealtest products. Carnival only sells the name brand products which consumers know and trust.

Yamali targeted a nearly unlimited set of potential customers and venues for the Carnival brand including… town pools, at sporting fields, crowded parking lots, local events, sports tournaments, festivals, picnics, birthdays, Mitzvahs, corporate and private parties, among other functions. They established the brand in more than 30 parks that reads like a Who’s Who of NY County and State Parks, and over the years they have earned exclusivity through hard work, reliability, and customer satisfaction. The parks and beaches in which Dover has operated over the years include, but are not limited to:

CARNIVAL ICE CREAM DOVER CATERERS CORAL HOUSE MALIBLUE OYSTER BAR HUDSONS ON THE MILE MALIBU SHORE CLUB MALIBU BEACH CAMP MILLERIDGE INN & VILLAGE DREAM EVENT PLANNING QUICK SNACK VENDING PETER’S CLAM BAR RAAY-NOR’S MAPLE MAINTENANCE & CONSTRUCTION

From Carnival Ice Cream came more, much more; again, from practically nothing, new businesses emerged in the form of Quick Snack Vending Machines, Dover Caterers, and Dream Event Planning…

Quick Snack Vending, the #1 On-premise Pepsi

IT IS AN HONOR TO HAVE BUTCH’S BACK FOR RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE MATTERS

I’VE MADE IT A PRACTICE TO TAKE OVER ONCEGREAT PLACES THAT HAVE LOST THEIR LUSTER, WHERE OWNERS HAVE EITHER AGED OUT OR LOST INTEREST IN UPKEEP

Milleridge Inn – Cottage – Shops

distributor in Long Island and # 2 in NYS, is in hundreds of small, medium, and large businesses, as well as, educational facilities, municipalities, recreational facilities & high security locations such as, but not limited to: United States Department of the Interior | State of New York | Counties of Nassau and Suffolk | Towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead | City of Long Beach | Villages of Rockville Centre and Valley Stream | Internal Revenue Service | More than 25 local school districts | Mercy Medical Center

Dover Caterers is rated as one of Nassau County Long Island’s finest, most elegant, stylish, and best priced off-site catering companies. Located in Freeport, Dover Caterers offers the highest quality, offsite catering services on Long Island, including outdoor catering for all occasions - weddings, family / corporate events, holidays, birthdays, baptisms, graduations, communions, and more.

Located in Freeport, Dover Caterers is rated as one of Long Island’s finest, most elegant, stylish, and best priced off-site catering companies on Long Island.; including outdoor catering for your next wedding, celebration, family or corporate picnic, holiday, birthday, baptism, graduation, communion, and more.

Dream event planning is a full-service event planning and production company, specializing in cutting edge decor, custom props, eye catching floral arrangements and centerpieces, lighting, linen, staging, entertainment, branding and interactive activities.

Dream also delivers DJ entertainment, videographers, photo montages, ice sculpture, party favors, music videos, limousine services, photo booths and more.

Long Island’s most elegant, picturesque, waterfront venue for weddings and special events.

Overlooking Milburn Lake in Baldwin, The Coral House offers an exquisite location for weddings, anniversary celebrations, corporate events, and holidays. Whether you’re planning a wedding for several hundred guests, an intimate party for family and friends, or a business gathering, the Coral House will make your special event an occasion to always remember.

“The original property can be traced back to 1672… the history of the place says Milleridge has had presidents eating there, settlers, British and Hessian soldiers, and even an underground bootlegging operation during the prohibition era,” says Butch Yamali, president ofthe Freeport-based Dover Group.

“I took the Milleridge property over in 2016. It hasn’t been a sleigh ride, but we’ve got everything back online, and headed in the right direction,” says Yamali. ”We’re blending new offerings with Milleridge tradition. It is a great combination with more than 100 special events planned for the rest of the year.”

The sprawling Milleridge complex is an impressive property able to accommodate about 1,000 diners. It also features a catering hall, cafe, pub, bakery, flower shop, and general store. Recently, they hosted the 2022 New York State Republican Convention Dinner at the Inn. P

Butch Yamali and Executive Assistant, Melissa O’Laughlin