Ask a New Yorker: My first question is, when you were growing up did you ever have a lemonade stand?
Cheryl: Yes I did, as a matter of fact. That seems like a hundred years ago. Of course, I can remember my sister and me standing out there selling lemonade for five cents. It probably cost fifteen cents to make, but we were thrilled that we sold some (lots of laughter) to our parents.
Ask a New Yorker: Where did you grow up?
Cheryl: I actually grew up everywhere. From the time I was in kindergarten till I went to ninth grade I had gone to thirteen different schools.
Ask a New Yorker: That’s a lot of schools. Was your Dad in the Army?
Cheryl: My dad was an executive but it was the days when you travelled and they moved you around and we lived everywhere. I was born in Virginia. We lived everywhere from China to North Carolina to Massachusetts to Connecticut and places in-between. We were sort of vagabonds.
Ask a New Yorker: I Googled you and, wow, you do get around! Cheryl Benton, you served in 2000 as the Democratic National Committee’s Mid Atlantic Political Director during the Presidential campaign.
Cheryl: (Laughter) No, not me…I don’t know who that Cheryl Benton is.
Ask a New Yorker: But you did the photograph of Maple Leaf on Fern?
Cheryl: No, (Laughter) it’s not mine but if it’s beautiful I’ll take credit for it.
Ask a New Yorker: Alright. So you’re not the photographer or The Director for The National Democratic committee. O.K., but you did serve as director for Outreach for Save Darfur Coalition Rally on the National Mall which drew over a million people?
Cheryl: No, who is this woman? I’m feeling so inferior right now(laughter). I’m feeling very underaccomplished.
Ask a New Yorker: I’m sorry my research is… I’m a bad googler.
Cheryl: You’re going to have to do primary research with the source now, (Laugher). So much for Google!
Ask a New Yorker: Well, the real Cheryl Benton….Who are you?
Cheryl: I spent thirty years in the New York City Advertising community. I left that world about four years ago to do marketing consulting, which is sort of my day job. And The Three Tomatoes is my passion. which maybe one day will be my day job.
Ask a New Yorker: The Three Tomatoes. How did you come up with the concept, the idea?
Cheryl: The idea for The Three Tomatoes grew over time and it really came from feeling like I had become an invisible woman. Invisible women in New York are women who are over forty-five. It seems like all the media and everything in New York City is really talking to all the twenty some things in the city. So it was kind of frustration. I’m like, here is this whole group and I have all these women friends who are professional and accomplished and they’re smart and funny. We all have actually disposable income and spend some of that and no one was talking to us. And I thought, “Oh that’s silly” So that was the genesis of The Three Tomatoes. So I thought, we’ll just talk to ourselves. That’s when I launched the first news letter.
Ask a New Yorker: I always get it confused. Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
Cheryl: Technically it’s a fruit. And I think we would prefer to think of ourselves as… fruity. The term tomatoes of course in my father’s generation instead of calling a woman ‘hot’ they would say, “Now that’s a tomato”.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your favorite periodical that you subscribe to?
Cheryl: I love New York magazine. It always has some great stories in it. It’s interesting and fun.
Ask a New Yorker: Does this tomato have a dancing partner?
Cheryl: I do indeed, in fact we’re celebrating our twenty-eighth anniversary in June which in this day in age I guess is a major accomplishment(laughter). Although we don’t take any credit for it; we just hung in there through the good and the bad.
Ask a New Yorker: I love your laugh. Let’s talk more about The Three Tomatoes.
Cheryl: It’s exciting we started doing events about two years ago which initially was not a concept that I was excited about. Some people would write me, it’s an email thing. They would say, “Why don’t you do some events” and I thought, well ,why would we all want to meet each other? Then we thought we would try one and sure enough about a hundred people showed up. We have done about eight or nine events now. Our next one we’re very excited about, is June 9 at Tony Di Napoli’s. Our events have really become very “New York insider” kind of events, things that you normally would not get to do. This one will have a fabulous five course dinner with wine of course. We usually always have martinis at any Three Tomatoes thing because we love martinis. And we’re going to see a stage reading; actually it’s more than that because we have the music and everything. A show that’s about to go to off Broadway. And were going to get to see the show and actually get to help the directors and creators maybe think about a new name and give some input into any changes they should make. It’s going to be fun. It’s a great show about friendships between women growing older and sharing different experiences with Valerie Smaldone and Amy Coleman, both very, very talented women. It should be fun.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your sign? Do people even ask this question anymore?
Cheryl: (laughter) Not like that. Some people are very into that. I kind of know a little bit about signs. I’m a cancer. Cancers are homebodies.
Ask a New Yorker: Any travelling plans soon?
Cheryl: This Friday were leaving for Italy for a couple of weeks and going to one of our favorite places in Tuscany. And then were heading south to stay at the Villa Cappelli which is a four hundred year old villa in Puglia. We’re very excited about being a guest there of Paul Cappelli, who is actually a New York City Ad guy whose dream was to own a villa. He bought this villa and restored it and kindly has invited us as his guest. Ask a New Yorker: This villa looks amazing…Well I have to say I like this Cheryl Benton tons more than the other ones. Thank you for the roof top interview. Bon Voyage!
