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.
