Froyo Void in Central Coast: Santa Maria

 

Ozzie's Premium Yogurt in Santa Maria, Source: Yelp

Fro-yo girl here. Santa Maria, California no longer has a froyo shop, the last one closed sometime in 2022. It was either Menchie’s or Yogurt Creations.

Santa Maria on California’s Central Coast has a population of 109,711 (2021) and is known for its wineries and BBQ. It’s the largest city, in terms of population, in Santa Barbara County. Yes, it’s even bigger than Santa Barbara.

TNT’s was the oldest froyo shop in Santa Maria that we could find. They claim to have been established in 1977 but ownership changed a few times and the 1977 date might not refer to Santa Maria (they had multiple locations).

Former Froyo Shops

• Crème De La Ice Cream, 1102 E Clark Ave Ste 110, took over the TNT’s space in 2019. They offered hand-crafted ice cream and soft serve froyo. The shop closed in 2021.
• Euro Yogurt Café, 319 Town Center West, became Woody’s Yogurt Café but I’m not sure when (a long time ago).
• Menchie’s, 2202 S Bradley Rd #1348, aka known as Menchie’s Crossroads at Santa Maria, first opened in December 2014. The last review was in 2022. The last Instagram post was made in February 2019 but it seems to have closed in 2022.
• Ozzie’s Premium Yogurt & Gelato, 3420 Orcutt Rd Ste 106, was in business from 2014 – 2017. Ozzie’s offered eighteen self-serve flavors a day, the most in Santa Maria. They also served boba tea, smoothies, and frappes.
• TNT’s, 1102 E Clark Ave Ste 110, had several locations along the Central Coast. TNT’s offered counter-serve ice cream, froyo, sundaes, smoothies, and shakes. According to the business profile, TNT’s was established in 1977 but I’m unsure of the original location. This location became Crème De La Ice Cream in 2019.
• TNT’s, 560 E Betteravia Rd was first reviewed in 2010 and the last review in 2013.
• Woody’s Yogurt Café, 319 Town Center West, is now Woody’s Boba Drinks. They probably stopped serving froyo around 2012. There was a Woody’s Yogurt in Buellton as well (now closed).
• Yogurt Creations, 2415 S Broadway, seems to have opened in 2008 and closed in January 2022. Yogurt Creations was the largest Central Coast self-serve froyo chain. There was a ribbon cutting in January 2020, due to a change in ownership. When Yogurt Creations closed, they owed employees unpaid wages.

Did I miss any Santa Maria froyo shops? Let me know.

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

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