More Rich Rifkins Out There

I've never met any other Rich Rifkins. However, I'd like to. We could start a club. It would be small, for sure. But exclusive!

It turns out that, in the Bay Area alone, there are at least two guys named Rich Rifkin. The first I'd heard of is this guy:


He owns the website http://www.richrifkin.com/. It says, "Rich Rifkin Partners, Inc" of Sausalito, CA, is "a custom home and land development company." However, a few years ago, I think he was in mortgage banking.

A few weeks ago, I came across a different Rich Rifkin. I thought it might have been the same guy, because he is also based in Marin County, but he looks quite different in the picture:


This Rich Rifkin is also in business. A recent story in the Contra Costa Times describes his new company:

A Bay Area entrepreneur aims to square off against big-box hardware stores — and buck a sour economy in the process — by offering green construction materials to builders of all sizes.

San Rafael-based New Home Inc. is planning to open a chain of building-materials stores, including some in the East Bay, that will cater to builders who want to be completely eco-friendly in their construction projects.

"Green building materials are too expensive and too hard to find," said Rich Rifkin, a serial entrepreneur who founded New Home in 2006. "We intend to make green building materials just as easy to find as non-green items."

The first showrooms are slated for Dublin and San Rafael. New Home has leased a 13,000-square-foot site in San Rafael.

And New Home plans to make the Dublin site, a former Good Guys building owned by Robert Enea, one of its flagship stores.

"We are very excited about our opportunity in Dublin and we are moving forward with that location," Rifkin said. He plans to sign his lease for Dublin shortly.

New Home, though, has scouted numerous other sites in the region for eco-building showrooms.

"We have identified 10 locations throughout the Bay Area for our showrooms," Rifkin said.

Hopefully, none of these Rich Rifkins turns out to be a serial killer. Though if one does, that would make a good Seinfeld episode:

ELAINE: The whole city is talking about this monster Joel Rifkin, and I am dating a Joel Rifkin.

JERRY: But you like your Joel Rifkin.

ELAINE: Yeah. I just wish he has a different name.

JERRY: Ask him to change it.

ELAINE: You can't ask a person to change their name.

JERRY: Why not?

ELAINE: Would you change yours?

JERRY: If someone asked me nicely. I'm Claude Seinfeld.

(Kramer enters)

ELAINE: Hey, how many people did Rifkin strangle? Eighteen?

JERRY: Yeah. Eighteen strangles.