Active Culture Long Beach Turns Three

Fro-yo girl here. Active Culture just turned three in Long Beach. To celebrate, there was a special 50% off menu items on March 5. The discount included froyo, bowls, salads, acai bowls, burritos, burgers, soups, smoothies, shakes, and more. The Long Beach branch is the fifth. Not Your Mama’s Nachos Tortilla chips, organic black and red beans, melted cheddar cheese, tomato, red onion, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, seasoning, OG sauce | GF

During my first visit three years ago, I was impressed with how tasty the Not Your Mama’s Nachos dish was. This time, I took home some Wholesome Bowls (organic brown rice, organic black and red beans, cheddar cheese, green cabbage, salsa, avocado, cilantro, seasoning, OG sauce) and those were also very wholesome, satisfying, fresh, and delicious. That OG sauce is seriously good. It tastes like curry, turmeric, lemon, and more.

The froyo machines are still in the back, out of sight. There are four flavors a day. During my visit, these were organic chocolate, organic vanilla, POG, and NY cheesecake. There is always a vegan option.

Prices: Jumbo ($8.99), Regular ($6.99), Cone ($4.99), Mini ($4.99). The mini is pretty big. The froyo toppings were on the main counter, so they seem to be self-serve. There were four toppings: Oreo crumbs, sprinkles, Fruity Pebbles, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch crumbs.

I’m hoping to visit the other locations. The Orange County locations have more froyo machines.

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

* ACTIVE CULTURE: 6420 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 170, Long Beach, CA 90803

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 Long Beach, California

 

Pinkberry, Long Beach

Fro-yo girl here. With a population of over 456,000, Long Beach is the second largest city in Los Angeles County. Spanning 52 square miles, the city has plenty of room for froyo shops. Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt on the Boardwalk was the oldest froyo shop that we found; they opened in 1987. Golden Spoon had three locations early on but seems to have suffered from the advent of self-serve froyo. One of the Golden Spoon locations even converted to the self-serve format. Currently, there are eight froyo shops remaining in Long Beach, including three Yogurtland shops, 1 Pinkberry, and 1 Tutti Frutti. Surprisingly, there is no Menchie’s in Long Beach. 

I found 10 froyo shops in Long Beach that have closed. Interestingly, there were two flat rate, self-serve froyo shops; both have closed. 

Of the 18 current and former froyo shops in Long Beach, I’ve visited eight shops: Active Culture, Pinkberry, Tutti Frutti on Palo Verde, Waffie & Yogie, Yogurtland Belmont Shore, Yogurtland Spring St, Yogurtland Atlantic Ave, and Yogurtland 7th St.

Current Froyo Shops

• Active Culture (2022 – present), 6240 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 170, opened at the attractive 2nd & PCH shopping center. Active Culture first opened in Laguna Beach and evolved into a natural healthy food café over the years, while still serving froyo. The froyo is counter-serve and they have some organic froyo flavors. 
• Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt on the Boardwalk (1987 – present), 429 Shoreline Village Drive, is an old-school froyo shop in Shoreline Village (on the boardwalk). They carry six flavors of froyo at a time and the froyo is counter-serve. The shop opened in 1987 and is still under the original ownership; it’s owned by two women.
• Pinkberry (2007 – present), 112 E Broadway, is downtown and counter-serve. They offer 6 froyo flavors a day and smoothies. The shop is 15 years old.
• Tutti Frutti (2009 – present), 2221 Palo Verde Ave Ste 1C/1D, is close to Cal State Long Beach. As a self-serve froyo shop, it’s the main competitor or Yogurtland. 
• Waffie & Yogie, now Wafflie & Milkie (2022 – present), 5523 E Stearns St, opened in February 2022. The shop serves boba drinks, smoothies, waffles, and self-serve froyo. The ownership changed in October 2022 and the name was changed to Waffie & Milkie. It seems to still serve froyo.
• Yogurtland, (2008 – present), 4816 2nd St, is known as the Belmont Shore location. The original owner was a CSULB grad. This location closed temporarily in 2017 and reopened under new ownership.
• Yogurtland (2016 – present), 6422 E Spring St., is close to CSULB.
• Yogurtland, (2016 – present), 4406 Atlantic Ave, Suite B, is at the Bixby Knolls Shopping Center.

Closed Froyo Shops

• Cherry On Top (2009 – 2011), 1804 Ximeno Ave, was a self-serve froyo shop near CSULB that many reviewers found inferior to Yogurtland.
• FroGurtz Yogurt Bar (2008 - 2010), 4740 E 7th St, was a self-serve froyo shop with flat rate cups. 
• Golden Cups (2021), 5523 E Stearns St, took over the Golden Spoon space and was open for a few months in 2021. The space is now occupied by Waffie & Yogie. 
• Golden Spoon (2007 – 2020), 5523 E Stearns St, was a counter-serve froyo shop which converted to self-serve in 2017. In January 2020, they had a grand opening celebration, possibly due to an ownership change. They added acai bowls and boba drinks.
• Golden Spoon, (2006 – 2011), 6467 E Pacific Coast Hwy Ste A, was a counter-serve froyo shop known for generous portions and golden colored spoons.
• Golden Spoon, (2010), 2014 Carson St, was a counter-serve froyo shop that seems to have been open for just one year at this location.
• Old Skool Yogurt (2012 – 2014), 1004 E Pacific Coast Hwy, was a self-serve froyo shop that offered flat rate pricing.
• YoPlace Frozen Yogurt (2011 - 2019), 4203 Montair Ave, offered self-serve froyo, smoothies, mochas, and sandwiches in the Parkview Village neighborhood. 
• Yogurtland (2008 - 2021), 5710 E 7th St #B2, was located close to Cal State Long Beach. When they first opened, the froyo was $0.30 an ounce. New ownership took over in 2018. While they closed in December 2021, there were still three other Yogurtland locations in Long Beach at that time.
• Zinga Frozen Yogurt (2013 – 2014), 1827 Ximeno Ave, was a self-serve froyo shop near Cal State Long Beach. It was the 2nd Zinga location in the LA area (Culver City was the first). They had freshly baked bottoms, e.g, brownies, cupcakes, and muffins.

I used to think Wilmington and Signal Hill, both of which have Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt shops, were part of Long Beach but technically, neither of them are. Signal Hill is a city that’s completely surrounded by Long Beach.

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.

Active Culture Opens in Long Beach

Fro-yo girl here. I knew about Active Culture many years ago when they opened in Laguna Beach, but this was my first time visiting one of their locations. The Long Beach location had a grand opening celebration in early March. It’s in the 2nd & PCH open-air shopping mall on Pacific Coast Highway.

They’re a natural healthy foods café that also happens to serve froyo. They serve acai bowls, smoothies, shakes, grain bowls, housemade lentil burgers, burritos, salads, breakfast, adult beverages, and froyo. There are vegan, raw, gluten-free, and soy-free options.

When I walked inside, I didn’t see any froyo machines. They do have froyo but the machines are in the back, out of sight.

Frozen yogurt is counter serve: Jumbo ($6.99), Regular ($5.99), Cone ($3.99), Mini ($3.49).

Froyo flavors: Organic vanilla, Organic chocolate, Pom-raspberry sorbet, Salted caramel

Organic vanilla froyo: The mini size wasn’t tiny. It was enough froyo to satisfy my froyo craving. The froyo was rich, creamy, smooth and had a nice vanilla flavor.

Order at the counter and get a number. They’ll bring your food to you. The café is new and looks beautiful – white walls, succulents, marina views, lots of outdoor seating.

Service was attentive. They checked in with me several times. I wasn’t expecting the food (the nachos with salsa, beans, guac, sour cream, cheddar, curry sauce, etc.) to be so good!

I had a hard time finding Active Culture even though I was looking for it. If you stroll down the main path of the mall, you won’t see it. You have to walk towards the marina (where the boats are) from Whole Foods.

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

* ACTIVE CULTURE: 6420 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 170, Long Beach, CA 90803

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.