Fro-yo girl here. As 2019 comes to an end, it’s time to look at the froyo shop openings and closings of 2019 in California. I believe that California continues to have the most froyo shops. While the focus of this post is on froyo shops, i.e., shops that primarily serve frozen yogurt, I also tried to track froyo not served in froyo shops but served from a soft serve machine, including restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, cafeterias, hospitals, frozen yogurt trucks and trailers.
It's always much easier to track openings since most frozen yogurt have a social media presence and Yelp listing. However, many shops close quietly, without making any announcement. Fortunately, helpful Yelpers are good about reporting closings.
Here’s my attempt to track froyo shop openings and closings in California this year.
Froyo Shop Openings (in alphabetical order):
- 21 Choices Pasadena (moved)
- Blitzer’s Yogurt, Murrieta (replaced FroYoLand)
- Cups and Cones, Pittsburg
- Dolci Mango, Poway
- Everest Yogurt, Sacramento
- Fog City Yogurt, Pacifica
- FROLO Frozen Yogurt, Manteca (moved)
- Froyo Freeze, Harbor City
- Frozen Land, Westwood, Los Angeles (replaced Yogurtland)
- Jon & Bon's Yogurt Shoppe, Rocklin
- Live Culture Café, Encinitas
- Mangos Frozen Yogurt, Downey (replaced Wild Berry)
- Menchie’s, Chula Vista
- Menchie’s, Citrus Heights
- Menchie’s, Pinole
- Menchie’s, Upland
- Menchie’s Victory Plaza, Whittier (replaced Frugo’s)
- Original Yogurt Shack, Carlsbad
- Peachwave, Seal Beach
- Swrlies, Los Angeles (pop-up)
- Tiki Tiki Frozen Yogurt & Ice Cream, El Monte (replaced Green Apple Frozen Yogurt)
- Tutti Frutti, Montrose (moved)
- Yoga-urt, Echo Park, Los Angeles
- Yogi Berry, Fresno (replaced Mickey’s Yogurt West)
- Yogurt Factory, Temecula (2nd location)
- Yogurt Time, Santa Rosa
- Yogurt Now, El Sobrante
- Yogurtland, Anaheim (Katella)
- Yogurtland, La Habra
- YOLO, San Anselmo
There were 30 openings this year, compared to 43 in 2018 and 64 in 2017. I've been to 8 of them so far. The number new openings has been on the decline since peaking in 2016. Five new Menchie's locations opened compared to two for Yogurtland. Several shops moved or replaced other froyo shops.
Froyo Shop Closures (in alphabetical order):
- Berries, Rancho Cucamonga
- Berrystar, Palmdale
- Big Spoon, Sacramento
- Big Spoon, Fair Oaks
- Boardwalk Yogurt, Venice
- Bougie’s Frozen Yogurt, Perris
- Bravo! Frozen Yogurt, Salinas
- California Yogurt, Yuba City
- Cherry On Top, Pasadena
- Cherry On Top, Garden Grove
- Chillz Frozen Yogurt, Riverside
- Chillz Frozen Yogurt, Grand Terrace
- Cones, Pittsburg (merged, now part of Nick’s Sandwiches, still offers froyo)
- Corner Yogurt, Half Moon Bay
- Crazy For Yogurt, Rancho Cordova
- Exquisito, Anaheim
- Fraiche, Palo Alto
- Friza Frozen Yogurt, Torrance
- FROLO Frozen Yogurt, Manteca (moved)
- Froyo Delite, Hollister
- FroYoLand, Murrieta (now Blitzer’s!)
- Frugos, Whittier (taken over by Menchie’s)
- Fusion Mix, Fremont
- Go Bananaz, Tustin
- Go Greek, Thousand Oaks
- Go Greek, Glendale
- Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, Calabasas
- Golden Spoon, La Costa, Carlsbad
- Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, Rancho Santa Margarita
- Golden Spoon, Temecula (Ynez)
- Golden Spoon, Temecula (Temecula Pkwy)
- Golden Spoon, Wildomar
- Great American Yogurt, Huntington Beach
- Live Culture Cafe, Encinitas
- Loving Cup, Hayes Valley, San Francisco
- Major Brain Freeze, Loma Linda
- Menchie’s Carmenita Rd., Whittier
- Menchie’s, Compton
- Menchie’s, Dublin
- Mickey’s Yogurt West, Fresno
- Miyo Yogurt, Los Altos
- Moonlight Yogurt, Encinitas
- OMG! Dessert Lounge, Anaheim
- Peachwave, Calabasas
- Pinkberry Blossom Hill, San Jose
- Pinkberry Hillcrest, San Diego
- Pinkberry, La Canada Flintridge
- Pinkberry Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
- Pinkberry, Newport Beach
- Pinkberry, San Francisco
- Pinkberry, Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica
- San Clemente Yogurt, San Clemente
- Sweet Swirl, Claremont
- sweetFrog, Camarillo
- SweetXO, Agoura Hills
- Swirls, Encinitas
- Tutti Frutti, La Crescenta (moved to Montrose)
- Tutti Frutti, Huntington Park
- Tutti Frutti, National City
- Tutti Frutti, University Park, Los Angeles
- Twins Frozen Yogurt, Rancho Cucamonga
- U Yogurt, Ventura
- Wild Berry, Downey
- Xtreme Frozen Yogurt, Carlsbad
- Yo Place, Long Beach
- Yogurt De Lite, Fremont
- Yogurt Delight, Dublin
- Yogurt Haven, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles
- Yogurt Shack, Carlsbad
- Yogurt Time, La Palma
- Yogurt Zone, Vacaville
- Yogurtland, Old Town Pasadena
- Yogurtland, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
- Yogurtland, Poway
- Yogurtland, Westwood, Los Angeles
- Yogurtland, Colima & Fullerton, Rowland Heights
- Yogurtland, Beverly Connection, Los Angeles
- Yogurtlicious, Corona
- Yumi Yogurt, Redwood City
There were 79 froyo shop closures in 2019, compared to 68 in 2018 and 99 in 2017. There were more closures than openings, as in 2017 and 2018. Another batch of Pinkberry shops closed, seven in total. Three Menchie's locations closed and six Yogurtland locations. Some old school shops closed that seemed like they'd be around forever, including Yogurt De Lite in Fremont, Great American Yogurt in Huntington Beach, and Yumi Yogurt in Redwood City.
New Places Serving Froyo But Not a Froyo Shop:
- Al’s Deli, San Francisco
- Apizza, San Francisco (Loving Cup)
- Coit Tower Café, San Francisco
- Eatery, Encino Freshii, Oakland
- Loop Neighborhood Market, Temecula
- Loop Neighborhood Market, Meridian, San Jose
- Souvla Marina, San Francisco
- N2 Lab, Monrovia, January 2019
- Nick the Greek, Morgan Hill
- Nick the Greek, San Carlos
- Nick the Greek, Santa Clara
- Nick the Greek, Santa Cruz
- Nick’s Sandwiches, Pittsburg (merged with Cones)
- Quarters Kitchen, Yorba Linda
Froyo is on the menu at the restaurants and convenience stores. Nick the Greek is a fast casual Greek chain that's currently in growth mode in the Bay Area. Loop Neighborhood Market continues to offer self-serve froyo.
Froyo Shop, Temporarily Closed:
Golden Spoon Long Beach is expected to reopen in December. 21 Choices was closed in Claremont for months but it did reopen after remodeling.
Reopened in Same Spot After Remodeling:
Not New, Not a Froyo Shop, Started Offering Froyo:
- Happy Days Café, Sherman Oaks
Had Froyo but No Longer Offers:
- Yalla Mediterranean locations (7)
- Walnut Creek, Burbank, Fremont, Seal Beach, Culver City, Dublin, Pleasant Hill
Closed, Not a Froyo Shop But Offered Froyo:
- Exquisito, Anaheim
- Mission Oaks Cafe, Camarillo
- Poki Yo, Yorba Linda
- Tea-nilicious, Hawaiian Gardens
New Management not a Froyo Shop:
- Health Habits, Valley Springs
New Ownership, Froyo Shop:
- Razzle Dazzle, Upland
- Yogurt Creations, Arroyo Grande
- Yogurt Creations, Atascadero
- Yogurt Creations, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
- Yogurt Creations, Lompoc
- Yogurt Creations, Paso Robles
- Yogurt Creations, Santa Maria
Coming Soon:
- Apizza Belmont
- Dolci Mango, Poway
- Easy Breezy, Corte Madera
- Fraiche, Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto
- Jon & Bon’s Yogurt Shoppe, Rocklin
- Loop Neighborhood Market, Sacramento
- Loop Neighborhood Market, Meridian – San Jose
- Pinkberry Valley Fair, Santa Clara
- YogoFarm, Los Angeles
- Yogart, Grantville, San Diego
- Yogurt & Yogurt, Moreno Valley
There's a lot to keep track of! Expect to see Reis & Irvy's froyo robots in California, next year. I hope Pinkberry does open new locations because so many have closed. The only ones left in the Bay Area are in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. I feel sad for all the people who want Pinkberry but don't live close to one. And while they now have a foodservice program that allows just about any business to serve Pinkberry, it's still hard to find. For example, the Eatery in Encino offered Pinkberry for a month but then they discontinued. Polkatots in Pasadena apparently had Pinkberry briefly, but every time I call about it, they say that they've run out???
Since I find out about openings and closings after publishing my post, I’ll keep updating this post. Did I miss any openings or closings in 2019? Let me know.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
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.