Walgreens with Frozen Yogurt Bar Opens in San Francisco

Fro-yo girl here. SF has its first flagship Walgreens store. The expanded and fancified two story Walgreens opened in Union Square last week. I’d been to the location prior to the renovation but hadn’t been often because there are so many other Walgreens locations in SF.

What’s new? The “upmarket” area features pastries from Café Madeline, grab n’ go sandwiches, sandwiches and yes, self-serve frozen yogurt. I spotted three Stoelting machines but one didn’t have fro-yo (not sure if it was out of order or not). There were two cups sizes, the small 8 oz. cup ($3.99) and large 12 oz. cup ($4.99). With the flat rate pricing you pay by the size of the cup and can add as much fro-yo and toppings as you want to the cup.

The frozen yogurt flavors and toppings had cute sticker labels. The toppings bar featured fruit (the berries looked like they had been frozen and were defrosting), popping boba, cheesecake, nuts, candy, cookies, chocolate chips, etc. The toppings in the refrigerated toppings bar area were covered. They had about 16 toppings. I didn’t see mochi.

I was disappointed that they didn’t have any tart flavors. They had basic flavors (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cookies n’ cream, birthday cake) and one sorbet. I tried the Tahitian vanilla fro-yo. It was very sweet, smooth and icy. There wasn’t much yogurt flavor. I found the texture and flavor disappointing.

I didn’t see any employees in the fro-yo area, nor did I see sample cups. You get a cup, do your thing, pay and get a spoon at the register. I asked if they planned on rotating flavors and apparently they don’t plan to rotate, so they won’t be carrying tart flavors.

I did like the counter area at the front of Walgreens where you can put your cup of fro-yo down and eat while standing.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* WALGREEN’S: 135 Powell St., San Francisco, CA

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.