Amazon Go Closes in Woodland Hills, A Visit to Amazon Go Whittier

 

Fro-yo girl here. It’s been almost a year since I visited Amazon Go (I don’t live near one). Turns out that the Amazon Go in Woodland Hills closed in late February after three years in business. Amazon Go in Torrance doesn’t offer self-serve froyo, so I headed to Amazon Go in Whittier.

The last time I was at Amazon Go, Whittier, I found out that they stopped carrying Pinkberry in late 2023 and switched to chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt. I asked the employee what brand of froyo mix they use, but he didn’t know because someone else maintains the soft serve machine.

While the price of froyo has gone up everywhere, even at IKEA, Amazon Go still offers flat rate cups of froyo and toppings for $4.99 (the price hasn’t changed since it first opened). It’s a real froyo steal. The froyo wasn’t bad at all. The vanilla is on the bland side. The chocolate isn’t crazy sweet. The yogurt is thick and creamy. For toppings, they had sprinkles, Oreos, and chocolate chips. The toppings dispenser is very messy, so a lot of toppings are wasted.

Amazon Go had a lot of items on sale. It feels like it’s going out of business. I actually like it because they carry better brands, have kombucha and cold brew on top, and have froyo. The prepared foods are better than 7-Eleven’s, and you can even get fresh food that’s made to order and reasonably priced. I’m not the type of person who shops at convenience stores, but if I lived near a better convenience store with froyo, I could see myself visiting it more often.

Amazon peaked at about 30 convenience stores. Since the peak, they’ve closed about half of these stores.

* AMAZON GO: 14249 Whittier Blvd, Whittier, CA 90605

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.

Amazon Go Opens in Torrance, CA Without Pinkberry & in Woodland Hills With Pinkberry

Amazon Go Torrance

Fro-yo girl here. Amazon Go, Amazon’s convenience store, opened quietly in Torrance, CA last month. The Torrance store is their second in the Los Angeles area and is 6,100 sq. ft. The first opened in Whittier, CA in September 2022. The new Amazon Go format first opened in Mill Creek, Washington in April 2022. The new format features Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology that allows shoppers to use the Amazon app to skip the checkout. The technology tracks what you walk out with and charges your Amazon account.

Amazon Go offers grab-and-go food and beverages, freshly prepared food including sandwiches, wraps, salads, breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and avocado toast, hot food (e.g., cheese pizza, sandwiches), snacks, essentials, coffee, pastries, kombucha on tap, etc. However, the Torrance location does NOT have self-serve Pinkberry froyo! The information provided by Amazon Go to Yelp shows that they have Pinkberry in Torrance. I looked all over for the Pinkberry machine and to confirm, spoke to the store clerk. 

Amazon Go, Woodland Hills

The Woodland Hills Amazon Go opened on December 1 and it does have self-serve Pinkberry for $4.99 (flat rate). The price includes toppings. They had two flavors of froyo: original and pomegranate and three kinds of toppings: mini milk chocolate gems, granola, and chocolate chips. FYI, the store is filled with potential toppings, like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, scones, vegan donuts, nuts, potato chips, candy, and more.

Amazon Go is a nicer convenience store and has lower prices on some of the same items carried by Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. The prepared food is better than the average convenience store. You can also use the Just Walk Out Technology and skip the trip to the register. Also, you can place your food order at a kiosk. The $3 breakfast sandwiches are fresh, customizable (made to order), and really good.

Amazon hopes to have zero carbon certification for these three outlets in Southern California soon.

* AMAZON GO: 22135 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503

* AMAZON GO: 22001 Ventura Blvd Woodland Hills, CA 91364

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.