Jeni’s Grand Opening in Highland Park, Los Angeles on November 30

 

Fro-yo girl here. Jeni’s Ice Cream’s scoop shop soft opened in Highland Park, Los Angeles on November 16 and the grand opening is set for 7 PM – 11 PM on Thursday, November 30. I won’t be able to attend but if you’re free, it’s worth waiting. The first 50 customers will get exclusive Jeni’s gifts (and they’ve been very generous at previous grand opening events). Everyone who attends will receive free scoops. The holiday flavors have arrived, including White Chocolate Peppermint, Rum Ball, Merry Berry, and Boozy Eggnog.

I visited the shop today. It’s in an older building on the corner of Avenue 56 and Figueroa. They had almost dozen flavors, including several dairy-free options and one froyo. Look for the gluten-free symbol if you're avoiding gluten. A standard size (up to 2 flavors) is $6.95 and comes with a buttercrisp waffle wedge. Flights and pints are available. Choose from a bowl or cone. You can also opt for the affogato.

The ice cream is made with the best ingredients, including grass fed milk from Ohio. The flavors are generally amazing but not crazy or super exotic. 

There’s also some cute Jeni’s merch for sale: cookbooks, t-shirts, sprinkles, bandanas, tasting spoons, sauces, etc.

Yes, it is an ice cream shop but Jeni’s has the best buttermilk frozen yogurt! You should get the Rainbow Buttermilk froyo and the Merry Berry. Here’s the description of Merry Berry: “But then — like a sweet-tart little beacon in all the richness — there are the jam-filled cookies. The bright spots on the table that liven up our palates with preserved fruits. Merry Berry is a celebration of those cookies, wrapped into ice cream. Fragrant brambleberry cream, light on its feet with a little tart buttermilk and lush yogurt folded in. A made-from-scratch raspberry coulis for satisfying jamminess in every bite. And crushed amaretti cookies that sandwiches the whole thing together, like a Linzer cookie.” Merry Berry has yogurt! And it’s tart and berry forward. Rainbow Buttermilk Frozen Yogurt features raspberry, key lime, and passion fruit froyo. It's extra tangy and rich. 

Get some froyo and enjoy! Also, if you are a fan, join the rewards program.

* JENI’S: 5601 N Figueroa St Suite #110, Los Angeles, CA 90042

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.

Froyo Scene in Metairie, Louisiana

 

Fro-yo girl here. New Orleans has many suburbs (e.g., Chalmette, Slidell, Gretna, Kenner, River Ridge, Belle Chasse) and many of them have froyo. Metairie is the largest suburb, with a population of 143,507 in 2020. I’m told that it’s a safe, nice area to live. The French were the first Europeans to settle in the area.

I found two froyo shops that are still open in Metairie and eleven that closed. The two that are open, TCBY and Todd’s, had other locations in the past. Todd’s moved around. Most of the shops that opened after TCBY closed after a year or two, but TCBY, Todd’s, and Tutti Frutti had more staying power. 

Froyo Shops in Metairie

• TCBY, 701 Metairie Rd, is a counter-serve shop that carries 20 flavors of frozen yogurt and sorbet daily. Fat-free and sugar-free options are available.
• Todd’s Frozen Yogurt, 3544 W Esplanade Ave, opened in 2014 after several moves (Lakeside Mall to Severn Ave). The shop is counter-serve and also serves shakes, smoothies, malts, sundaes, etc. Sugar-free options are available.

Former Froyo Shops

• CherryBerry, 3348 W Esplanade Ave, Unit C, opened in 2010 offering self-serve froyo. They also carried shaved ice that was made to order. The shop may have closed in 2012.
• Red Mango, 4852 Veterans Memorial Blvd, was a self-serve location that opened in 2012 and closed in 2013.
• Frogurt, 3841 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Ste 102, was a self-serve froyo shop that was open from 2012-2013
• Kool 32 Degrees Yogurt, 3841 Veterans Memorial Blvd, unknown dates
• TCBY, 5107 W Napoleon Ave, probably closed a long time ago
• TCBY, 615 Veterans Memorial Blvd, probably closed a long time ago
• TCBY, 2222 Clearview Pkwy Ste B, probably closed a long time ago. There was one review from 2011.
• TCBY, 5000 W Esplanade Ave, probably closed a long time ago
• Todd’s Frozen Yogurt, 3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd Ste 14A, had a counter-serve kiosk at Lakeside Mall in 1992. They moved to a larger space Severn Ave. and then to the current space on Esplanade Ave.
• Todd’s Frozen Yogurt, 3200 Severn Ave. Suite 106, was the location Todd’s moved to after leaving Lakeside Mall in 2014.
• Tutti Frutti, 4316 Veterans Memorial Blvd Ste B, opened at Lakeside Mall in 2010. The self-serve froyo shop, part of the international froyo chain, closed in 2022.

Did I miss any froyo shops in Metairie? 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.

Erewhon Introduces Vegan, Organic Soft Serve in Tonic Bars

Fro-yo girl here. Erewhon just added vegan, organic coconut soft serve ice cream at the Culver City and Pasadena locations. There is one flavor that tastes like coconut. The soft serve is gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher, soy-free, dairy-free, and allergen-friendly. It is not frozen yogurt. 

Coconut Soft Serve: The soft serve was thick, rich, and creamy. It had a strong coconut taste. It seemed sweeter than usual and the 8 oz serving was so large that I got tired of eating it. The glazes sounded very sweet. The 8 oz cup was only $6.

They’re serving a soft serve mix from Coconut Bliss out of a Stoelting counter-top soft serve machine. The machine has a single hopper, so they'll only be able to offer one flavor at a time.

The soft serve is available from the Tonic Bar. It’s not on the menu yet, but I was told that there are two sizes (8 oz & 12 oz) and the option to add any of their glazes (fruit, maple), coffee, goji berries, walnuts, cacao nibs, etc. It sounds like the toppings were already offered at the tonic bar and they haven’t added fresh fruit, granola, and other toppings that would pair well with the soft serve.

Coconut Bliss was acquired by HumanCo in 2020 and rebranded as Cosmic Bliss. Erewhon plans to add the soft serve to all locations in the near future. I’m hoping they also improve the toppings options. Also, I’d really like a smaller cup size (4 to 6 oz). They should be serving Yoga-urt because it's so much better. 

You can find the ingredients and nutritional information on Azure Standard.

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.

Wafflecomb Under New Ownership, Now Offering Self-Serve Froyo

 

Fro-yo girl here. Wafflecomb in Santa Clarita, California, first opened in 2018 as a counter-serve bubble waffle and soft serve ice cream shop. I never went to old Wafflecomb which seemed similar to SomiSomi (soft serve ice cream, waffles). The ownership recently changed.

The new owner added more soft serve machines, started carrying froyo, and switched to a self-serve soft serve format. I think changed the waffle recipes as well. The bubble waffles and taiyaki are now bubble mochi waffles and mochi taiyaki. The soft serve is $0.71/oz. They have 10 flavors a day, including a dairy-free option, ice cream, custard, and froyo.

For $8.99, you can get a freshly made bubble mochi waffle (two flavors are available: vanilla and chocolate) with unlimited soft serve and toppings. It’s a good deal but the waffle is fairly large, so it’s a big dessert. I didn’t see any fresh fruit toppings. They only had dry toppings: candy, cereal, cookies, coconut, mochi, Pocky, and Hershey’s syrups. The toppings were neatly labeled.

The mochi bubble waffle was pretty good and I’ve had many bubble waffles. The bits between the puffs were nice and crunchy. The mochi made the waffle a little chewier. The batter wasn’t too sweet. The matcha soft serve ice cream was also good!

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

* WAFFLECOMB, 26240 Bouquet Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91530

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.

Yogurtland’s New Topping, Churro Cookie Dough Bites

Fro-yo girl here. I finally spotted the new Yogurtland topping, Churro Cookie Dough Bites. They’re meant to be paired with the new froyo flavor, Cinnamon Sticky Bun froyo. The Churro Cookie Dough Bites are small, like their regular cookie dough bites. They’re soft and coated in cinnamon sugar. The texture is soft and a bit gritty. They taste a bit like snickerdoodle cookies. I’m not sure that I like the texture, but the flavor is pretty good.

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.

Yogurt Buns at Simply Splendid Bakery

 

Fro-yo girl here. Simply Splendid Bakery is a Hong Kong style bakery that bakes cakes, cake rolls, loaves of bread, buns, egg tarts, savory pies, and pastries. They also offer drinks, including Hong Kong milk tea. Baked buns include the usual red bean, taro, coconut, tuna, egg & ham, cheese, hot dog, custard, coffee, etc. The baked buns are individually wrapped.

I have to say that I’m impressed with how soft and fresh their buns are and their buns aren’t too sweet. And there are so many sweet and savory buns to choose from.

The yogurt buns are $2.50 each. The buns are pink (not sure why) and dusted in white powder. The powder was flour, not powdered sugar. The bun was so soft and chewy. Plus, it was lightly sweetened. There was a little bit of yogurt in the center of the bun and the yogurt wasn’t too sweet. The bun seemed to have a hint of rosewater? Delicious and intriguing flavors.

P.S. Their mochi buns have lots of chewy, soft mochi on the inside.

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

* SIMPLY SPLENDID BAKERY: 1273 E Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801

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.

Yogurtland New Holiday Stickers and Another New Topping

Fro-yo girl here. In addition to the Yogurtland holiday-themed sticker sheets, I spotted single Yogurtland holiday cup stickers at the register. The sticker features the new holiday cup design, froyo (chocolate?), and colorful toppings that look like chocolate coated sunflower seeds. The stickers are glossy and would look super cute on your phone, laptop, or water bottle. The stickers are free.

I also heard that Yogurtland has a new topping, Churro Cookie Dough Bites, but I haven’t seen them yet.

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.

Crèmily French Frozen Yogurt Pops Review

Fro-yo girl here. I recently spotted Crèmily French Frozen Yogurt Pops at Grocery Outlet. One box, which contains four individually wrapped bars, was $2.99. I’ve seen the Crèmily frozen yogurt pints before at Vons, but this was my first time seeing the pops. The coated pops are 2.75 fl oz each and they are Keto friendly.

Crèmily is the world’s first Keto French frozen yogurt. It’s low carb, with no added sugar, and made with A2 milk. The froyo is high protein, high fat, gluten-free, and contains probiotics and prebiotics. It’s sweetened with erythritol, monk fruit and Stevia. The packaging says Crèmily’s founder is Kylie Schuyler and that Schuyler recruited “top chefs and nutritionists to merge traditional, artisanal French yogurt recipes with modern techniques and the highest quality ingredients.”

French vanilla pop: The coating is a thin chocolate shell. It has a bitterness that I associate with dark chocolate. The shell was brittle and had holes in it. It fell off easily. I did like the shell a lot, though I wish it didn’t fall off that easily. The vanilla frozen yogurt was mild, creamy, and sweet in a pleasant way…somewhat bland but still tasty. I thought the pop was better than the pint that I tried a few months ago. One pop is 160 calories, 15g total fat, 14g total carbs, 2g total sugars, and 3g protein.

Available pop flavors: French vanilla, Salted caramel, Chocolate, Peanut butter chocolate

The Crèmily Foundation programs empower girls globally. One hundred percent of Crèmily’s profits go to the charitable foundation.

4 out of 5 stars.

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.

Yogurtland Mystery Giant Spoon Day

Fro-yo girl here. It hasn’t been announced yet, but Yogurtland is having a Mystery Giant Spoon Day on Saturday, November 18. You’ll get a free giant spoon with a minimum $10 in-store purchase. The mystery is that you won’t know which giant spoon you’ll be getting. It could be a rare spoon. Most of the giant spoons were handed out during one-day promotional events. Good luck, froyo spoon collectors.

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.

Yogurtland Holiday Cup, Holiday Spoon, Holiday Stickers, & New Topping

 

Fro-yo girl here. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Yogurtland. White chocolate peppermint froyo is back and there’s a new holiday cup and holiday spoon. The cup is a berry color and features the Yogurtland logo on a froyo cup, Christmas trees, snowflakes, candy canes, lollipops, and blue stars. The spoon is a light blue snowman wearing a scarf and a top hat. The Yogurtland logo appears on the hat. On the back of the spoon it says Happy Holidays on the handle. Very cute.

I also found some new Yogurtland holiday-themed sticker sheets. The stickers include a penguin holding a froyo cup, a snowman holding a froyo cup, a stocking, Christmas tree, froyo spoon, etc. The stickers are free, so be sure to look for them (you might have to ask for them).

And there’s a new holiday topping, Cap’n Crunch’s Christmas Crunch, featuring red and green holiday shapes like Christmas trees, stars, snowmen, and stocking caps.

The holiday cups, spoons, stickers, and toppings are available for a limited time only.

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.

2023 Veterans Day Froyo Offers

Fro-yo girl here. Thank you, vets and active military, for your service to this country. I’ve compiled a list of froyo shops that are honoring veterans & active military with a froyo discount or free froyo for Veterans Day. Here’s the alphabetical list:

• Alpine Chill (Alpine, CA): Vets enjoy 20% off on 11/11/23
• Ayelada (Pittsfield, MA): Free froyo for vets and active duty on 11/10/23
• Berry Mangos (McDonough, GA): Vets with valid military ID enjoy a free 5 oz froyo on 11/11/23
• Chill on Sunrise (Tucson, AZ): With proof of service, active duty military enjoy a free small froyo or ice cream, vets and family members receive a 25% discount
• Cuppa Yo (Buckeye, AZ): Vets and active duty military, enjoy 8 oz free on 11/11 with valid ID
• Cuppa Yo (North Plains, OR): Free 8 oz froyo with military ID on 11/11/23
• Frozen Spoon (Lake Havasu, AZ): Vets and active duty military bring your military ID to get a free 8 oz cup of froyo on 11/11/23
• House of Yogurt (Costa Mesa, CA): Vets and active duty military get a free 8 oz froyo on 11/11/23 with military ID
• Kiwi Loco (Pocatello, ID): Current and former service members get a free froyo or boba on 11/11/23 
• Lizzy's Premium Frozen Yogurt (Desert Hot Springs, CA): 20% off for vets and active duty military on 11/10/23
• Menchie’s (US): Veterans and active duty military get 6 oz of free froyo on 11/11 with a valid military ID
• Never Better Frozen Yogurt (Lake Elsinore, CA): Vets enjoy 8 oz free on 11/10/23
• Orange Leaf (Buckeye, AZ): Vets enjoy a free small cup on 11/10 - 11/11/23
• Peachwave (Holland, MI): Vets and active military enjoy $4 off a single bowl, smoothie, float OR a FREE hot cocoa or coffee. Must show valid military ID on 11/11/23
• Peachwave (El Paso, TX): Vets get 10% off your purchase with military ID on 11/10/23
• Peachwave (Sioux City, SD): 20% off your purchase with military ID on 11/11/23
• Pink Spoon (Forest Grove, OR): Free cup of froyo for vets on 11/11/23
• The Skinny Dip (Ocoee, FL): Show your military ID for a free bowl of froyo on 11/11/23
• Spoon Cafe (Williamstown, MA): Vets enjoy a free small two toppings on 11/10/23
• Suzy’s Swirl (Lake Bluff & Lake Forest, IL): Veterans enjoy 50% off your cup from November 1 – 11, 2023. Also, when you round up the check in November, the proceeds will go to local veterans (Lake Forest American Legion)
• Sweet CeCe's (Mt. Juliet, TN): Vets enjoy a free sweet cup on the house all weekend (11/11 & 11/12)
• SweetFrog (Laurel, Kent Island, Rosedale, Salisbury, Woodmore, Dundalk, MD): 25% off for military and their immediate family (spouse and children, military ID required) any Monday in November
• Sweet Toppings (Minneapolis, MN): Free sundae on 11/11 for all who served
• Swirl Time (Rohnert Park, CA): Vets enjoy 25% off on 11/11/23
• TCBY: First 6 oz free for vets and active military members with proof of service
• The Good Spoon (Caldwell, ID): Vets enjoy a free cup of frozen yogurt on 11/11
• Urban Swirl (Granger, IN): Vets get a single scoop or up to 6 oz of froyo for free, 20% off for your family on 11/11
• Yodels Frozen Yogurt (MI): 50% off with valid military ID on 11/11/23
• Yogaert (Flagstaff, AZ): 50% off for vets on 11/10/23
• Yogo Crazy (Wyomissing, PA): Show proof of service and enjoy a free 8 oz froyo on 11/11/23
• Yogurt Factory (CA): Free froyo, up to 16 oz for vets and active duty military on 11/11/23
• Yogurt Hut (Medford, OR): Free 8 oz froyo on 11/11/23 for vets with military ID
• Yogurt Mill (Central CA): Free menu item OR first 12oz free at the Pelandale location for all veterans and active military personnel. Must show cashier Military ID.
• Yogurtini (Shoal Creek, Overland Park, Plaza, KC): Vets eat free on 11/11/23
• Yogurtland (US): $5 off online orders of $30 or more (before taxes and fees), November 10-12, using the promo code FALL5
• Yogurtland (Las Vegas): Vets and active military enjoy 8 oz cup free on 11/10 - 11/11/23 with military ID
• Yummy Joe's (Hawkinsville, GA): 20% off with valid military ID on 11/11/23
• Zack's Frozen Yogurt (Kernersville, NC): Free regular cone on 11/10/23 with military ID

Check out the Veterans Day Froyo Pinterest board for Veterans Day froyo images.

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.

New at Menchie’s: New Flavors, New Cup, Veterans Day Promo

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s has two new flavors featured this month, Sophia’s Extraordinary Strawberry Cake froyo and Caramel Apple Pie froyo.

Sophia’s Extraordinary Strawberry Cake froyo and a new Unicorn Academy cup was inspired by the Netflix series, Unicorn Academy. It’s streaming now on Netflix, exclusively. The froyo is lowfat and made with real strawberries and cake pieces. It contains no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, and no high fructose corn syrup. I could taste the strawberries and the cake, but it wasn’t cloyingly sweet. The texture was smooth, rich, and creamy. Recommended toppings: Nilla wafers, fresh strawberries, and Cool Whip.

The Unicorn Academy cup is purple and features Sophia and a unicorn. There’s a flying pink creature on the cup as well. It says “fill this cup with Sophia’s Extraordinary Strawberry Cake froyo!”

Caramel Apple Pie froyo is a lowfat froyo made with real apples, cinnamon, and graham cracker crumbs. The cinnamon flavor struck me first and then the apple. It’s a warm, mellow flavor. The texture was smooth, creamy, and rich. Caramel Apple Pie froyo is made with no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup. Recommended toppings: graham cracker crumbs, walnuts or almonds, caramel sauce, and Cool Whip.

Menchie’s featured flavors are available for a limited time only, while supplies last.

Menchie’s is also honoring veterans and active military members with 6 oz of free froyo this Veterans Day, November 11. To redeem the offer, just show a valid military ID.

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.

New Pinkberry Holiday Flavor, Roasted Almond Cookie Frozen Yogurt & New Topping

 

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry announced a NEW holiday flavor, Roasted Almond Cookie frozen yogurt. They recommend pairing Roasted Almond Cookie froyo with chocolate chips, crushed almond biscotti cookies, and chocolate sauce drizzle. This means that there’s a new topping, crushed almond biscotti cookies.

Pinkberry describes Roasted Almond Cookie froyo as: “a decadent and creamy almond blend made with real Biscoff® Cookies.” Love Biscoff!

Roasted Almond Cookie froyo: Yum! I liked it a lot. The froyo tasted like almond biscotti, and the texture was smooth, light, and creamy. It’s not as rich as some froyo, and that works well with some of the sweeter flavors. The toppings paired well with the froyo, adding texture and flavor. The biscotti was in tiny pieces, but the pieces were still crunchy. Recommended toppings: crushed almond biscotti cookies, cinnamon crumble, roasted almonds, dark chocolate crisps.

Last year I was disappointed when Pinkberry did not introduce a new holiday flavor. Instead, they brought back Chocolate Chip Cookie frozen yogurt. In 2021, they brought back Tiramisu as the holiday froyo flavor. The last new holiday flavor was 2019’s Cranberry Orange froyo.

So far the holiday froyo picture is bright.

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.

Yogurtland Holiday Flavors

brown sugar boba milk tea mochi

Fro-yo girl here. Now that the day after Halloween seems to be the official start of the Christmas season, holiday froyo flavors are here.

Fan-favorite White Chocolate Peppermint froyo is back. Yogurtland describes White Chocolate Peppermint froyo as, “Our mix of real gourmet white chocolate and delicious peppermint serves up joy by the spoonful, just in time for the holidays.” The flavor is lowfat, gluten-free, and made with real white chocolate peppermint. It wasn’t at the Yogurtland location that I went to but I’ve had it before. I liked it. It’s not too minty. Recommended toppings: chocolate shell, chocolate chips, whipped cream

And there is a NEW flavor, Cinnamon Sticky Bun froyo. Yogurtland encourages guests to “Dive into the flavor of this sticky, sweet treat with a touch of cinnamon.” Cinnamon Sticky Bun froyo is lowfat but not gluten-free. It’s made with real cinnamon, vanilla wafer cookies, English toffee, and sweetened condensed milk. I was expecting a strong cinnamon flavor even though the sign said a touch of cinnamon. The buns in the picture look like they have a lot of cinnamon. Anyway, the froyo tasted more like a caramel cheesecake. It was creamy and smooth. Recommended toppings: cheesecake, Cinnamon Toast Crunch (or S’mores cereal)

I spotted a new topping: brown sugar boba milk tea mochi. These were good! They’re big too. The chewy mochi has a creamy filling with more mochi inside.

I saw a picture of a red Yogurtland holiday cup but I haven’t seen the new cups at my Yogurtland yet.

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.

Ace Frozen Yogurt Closes in Arcadia, 626 Ice Cream Takes Over

Fro-yo girl here. And Arcadia is down to one froyo shop, Yogurtland, with the recent closure of the oldest froyo shop in San Gabriel Valley, Ace Frozen Yogurt. Ace Frozen Yogurt opened in 1986. The counter-serve froyo shop served Dannon YoCream froyo, smoothies, shaved ice, and more.

626 Hospitality Group took over the Ace Frozen Yogurt space and soft opened recently. The owners are SGV natives and so their flavors are LA-inspired, such as mango calamansi, lychee strawberry, and hojicha. While they launched their ice cream business doing pop-ups and selling prepacked ice cream pints at specialty grocers, they decided to offer soft serve ice cream at the new store, using the soft serve machines purchased by the Ace Frozen Yogurt owners, and call the new business 626 Ice Cream.

It's clear that they respect the history of Ace Frozen Yogurt. They kept their trash can and there are photos of the Ace Frozen Yogurt owners on the wall (one from decades ago and a newer one with the 626 Ice Cream new owners). The toppings bar and soft serve machines are from Ace Frozen Yogurt but with different ice cream and different toppings (chamoy, soybean powder, mochi, nuts, pomegranate molasses, aloe vera, hawthorn flakes).

Soft serve flavors: Black sugar vanilla, Lychee strawberry, Yakult, Mango Calamansi, Hojicha, Malted Chocolate. Two of the flavors are vegan and all of the ones listed are gluten-free. They’re housemade flavors that you can’t get anywhere else. Because of that, 626 Ice Cream is better than Ace Frozen Yogurt ever was. It pains me to say that because 626 Ice Cream serves ice cream, but it’s true. The lychee strawberry soft serve was vegan yet it wasn’t icy or sorbet like and it was bursting with lychee flavor but also quite tangy. I loved the tang and the flavor.

One 8 oz cup is $7.25. You can choose up to two flavors. Add 3 toppings for $1.75.

Here's what they had to say about the transition (from Instagram): 

“Ace Yogurt has been in business for 37+ years. Generations have come through the door, grown up, and brought children and grandchildren of their own. Amber and I came in on a rainy spring day, and were welcomed by the sweetest couple in the world, Jay and Soo. They told us how they had been running the store for 20+ years, after they bought it from the original owner (who they are still close friends with). They went on to explain that they were looking to retire, invest in their health, and spend more time together. Jay finished by saying that he's looking to sell the store. The rest is history.

Fast forward, as we were finalizing the transition, Soo, who is quite reserved in manner of speech, asked "I hope you keep the machines." Many of you might know (and hopefully love) our ice cream, but we were all raised to respect our elders. We are going to honor Jay and Soo's wishes and the heritage of Ace Yogurt, while being true to ourselves. The only answer? Made from scratch soft-serve.

The vast majority of soft-serve is made by opening a pack of industrial dry mix or bottle of liquid base and dumping it into a machine. We understand why the temptation is there. It is many times more expensive and labor-intensive to do things ourselves. But it's all for you, our guest. A true labor of love. This will be our flagship store, the only location where you will find 626 Soft-Serve.

We are excited to plant roots in this community we call home. Someone with more business acumen is likely reading this and seeing a lot of unnecessary risk. But, we believe that not all business decisions need to be reduced to economics. There is a human aspect to doing business that matters. People matter, and this neighborhood will see value in what we are doing. Where there is heart, there is a way.”

* 626 ICE CREAM: 626 Ice Cream, 160 E Duarte Rd, Ste E, Arcadia, CA 91006

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.