More Froyo Shop Closures: Pinkberry Santana Row, Yoppi Yogurt (California St.) San Francisco, Cuppa San Francisco

Fro-yo girl here. We’re a few days away from winter, when most of the froyo news is not positive. Thanks to Tracy T., I learned about the December closure of Pinkberry Santana Row and the closure of Yoppi Yogurt on California St. in San Francisco, CA. I also found out that Cuppa (formerly Rockit Swirl) in Glen Park, San Francisco, CA closed this month.

Pinkberry Santana Row (368 Santana Row, Suite 1020, San Jose, CA 95128) turned 10 this month and promptly closed. They signed a 10-year lease and the lease was up. Santana Row refused to extend the lease. I remember attending the grand opening event in January 22, 2009, with Yelp friend, Ann L. They set up a tent outside and had a VIP list. I’m sure that I still have the t-shirt they gave me that night.

Yoppi Yogurt at 101 California St. in San Francisco, CA was one of several Yoppi locations that opened in the FiDi area in 2010. I thought Yoppi had cute signs but was never a fan of their frozen yogurt. I remember going to the California St. location with Genevieve Y. in 2010. The froyo was very icy at that time. I don’t think I ever went back. At that time, I was a regular at Tuttimelon and I would have gone to YoCup more often if it were convenient.

Cuppa (2810 Diamond St., San Francisco, CA) opened in March 2017. Before it was Cuppa, there was a froyo shop called Rockit Swirl in the same location and before RockitSwirl, it was Eggettes. Eggettes first introduced frozen yogurt at the Glen Park location in 2009. Cuppa served “bubble tea, froyo, smoothies, snacks and more.” When I visited, it didn’t seem that different from Rockit Swirl, though they refreshed the interior.

In a few years, most of the new boba places are going to close.

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.

RockIt Swirl Transforms into Cuppa, the Update

Fro-yo girl here. Back in 2011, Eggettes in Glen Park (San Francisco, CA) remodeled and rebranded, becoming Rockit Swirl. I covered the story at the time: http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2011/07/rock-it-swirl-takes-over-eggettes-in.html

Eggettes first introduced frozen yogurt at the Glen Park location in 2009: http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2009/05/fro-yo-meet-eggettes-eggettes-meet-fro.html

The owners have remodeled and rebranded again. Rockit Swirl is now called Cuppa. Cuppa serves “bubble tea, froyo, smoothies, snacks and more.” I missed the grand opening in March but I did check out the shop recently.

Cuppa represents a somewhat fresh start, though the frozen yogurt machines have remained and the menu isn’t that different from the previous incarnation. Some of the Rock It Swirl signs are still present too. The interior has been painted and it does feel cleaner (and cleanliness was an issue before). It looks more mature.

Rockit Swirl became a grimy hangout for high school and middle school kids. More families are going to Cuppa now (but I also visited during the summer, so I'm sure fewer school kids were out looking for a place to go afterschool).

The froyo is still self-serve. They had 6 flavors at the time. The toppings bar is what they had before: syrups, candy, fruit, popping boba, nuts, sprinkles, granola, chocolate chips, coconut, jellies and mochi. It’s 65 cents an ounce.

The customer service was friendly but when I asked for a sample cup, she only gave me one. One sample cup isn’t helpful, especially since I didn’t like what I sampled.

Froyo flavors of the day:

• Cable car chocolate
• French vanilla
• Strawberry: sweet, creamy, like ice cream, not yogurt 
• Original tart: the best flavor that I sampled, it had a refreshing edge and clean finish without being watered down, it didn’t taste lemony but had a bit of sourness and tang
• Almond milk, vanilla: dairy free, no probiotics, the texture was icier which I don’t mind but the flavor was very sweet and pretty chalky, plus it was bland
• Mango sorbet

For snacks, they have spam musubi, potstickers, chicken bites, etc. The best thing they ever offered here was the egg waffles. And those haven’t been offered for years. It feels like the place has improved a little but not a lot. The changes are more cosmetic on the froyo side though they did add almond milk soft serve (a premium offering). I doubt I would return unless they brought back the eggettes but that seems unlikely. Eggettes have become popular again though, so they should offer them.

Glen Park is a lovely neighborhood. It deserves a higher quality froyo spot.

$5 credit card minimum.

3 out of 5 stars

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

* CUPPA: 2810 Diamond St., San Francisco, CA 94131

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.

RockIt Swirl Transforms into Cuppa

Fro-yo girl here. Back in 2011, Eggettes in Glen Park (San Francisco, CA) remodeled and rebranded, becoming Rockit Swirl. I covered the story at the time: http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2011/07/rock-it-swirl-takes-over-eggettes-in.html

Eggettes first introduced frozen yogurt at the Glen Park location in 2009: http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2009/05/fro-yo-meet-eggettes-eggettes-meet-fro.html

Now Rockit Swirl (in the early days, it was Rock It Swirl, later it was Rockit Swirl) has remodeled and rebranded again. Rockit Swirl is now called Cuppa. Cuppa serves “bubble tea, froyo, smoothies, snacks and more.” It’s open now but they’re having a grand opening on March 18.

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

* CUPPA: 2810 Diamond St., San Francisco, CA 94131

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.