Fro-yo girl here. Today I attended Western Freezers' open house, an event sponsored by YoCream and Palo Alto Egg. These type of events are perfect for (1) fro-yo networking, meeting people who are passionate about fro-yo, including vendors and fro-yo shop owners, (2) checking out the latest industry trends, (3) learning about fro-yo machines. I was excited to spot Chilaberries fro-yo van. I haven't been to their stores yet (they're in Tracy, Manteca, Patterson) but I saw some pictures of the stores and the elaborate decor was impressive. One store has an "under the sea" theme. Their Yeti mascot is a cutie. Apparently they carry 150 toppings, the most in the Bay Area.
Western Freezers carries Stoelting equipment, including fro-yo machines, frozen slush dispensers, hoodless fryers and more. It was interesting to see some old Stoelting fro-yo machines, including a 30 year old model that still works well. It featured an unusual side handle (vs. the usual style where you pull the handle down to dispense the product).
Palo Alto Egg is a Northern California food service distributor and they distribute YoCream, toppings, etc. They provided samples of juice poppers and colored jellies. The poppers seem to be catching on at fro-yo shops.
Yo Designs offers pre-fabricated design solutions (custom fro-yo kiosks) that allow you to have a completed kiosk in as little as four weeks.
YoCream brought five exciting new fro-yo flavors: Greek Yogurt, Thin Mint, Angel Food Cake, Strawberry Lemonade & Pink Grapefruit. Pink grapefruit was my favorite. It was tart and refreshing, with a strong grapefruit flavor. It had a bit of bitterness but that's natural for grapefruit. The strawberry lemonade was my second favorite. It was very tart and tasted mostly like lemonade (much more so than strawberry). Thin Mint was excellent, creamy mint chocolate flavor that would be so good with crushed cookies or a thin chocolate shell. The Greek Yogurt was very creamy but not sour enough...but they plan on adding honey to it. I'd love to try it again with the added honey flavor. Angel food cake wasn't as sweet as some of the cake batter/cupcake flavors (which is a good thing).
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* WESTERN FREEZERS: 42285 Osgood Rd, Unit F, Fremont, CA
Hey Fro Yo Girl!
ReplyDeleteLove your reviews and always enjoy your blog!
The amazing muralist who does the artwork at Chilaberries is Tom Wendt. He's currently doing a beach theme at the Patterson location. He also did the artwork at LA Cultures (my favorite fro yo) in Modesto.
Hi Lynn(e),
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the artist. I didn't know his name. I'll have to stop by Chilaberries the next time I'm in that area. I haven't seen LA Cultures either.
- FYG