Froyo Scene in Daly City, CA

 

Fro-yo girl here. After seven years, Daly City has a froyo shop again. San Froyo opened this year at Serramonte Center. Interestingly, while Daly City is the second most populous city in San Mateo County with 102,000 residents, no large froyo chain has ever opened in Daly City.

There are three places you can get froyo in Daly City, but only one froyo shop. I found two closed froyo shops. I remember visiting both. I also found six establishments that are still open and once served froyo, but no longer offer froyo.

Places To Get Froyo

• Nick the Greek, 507 Westlake Center, is part of the Greek fast casual chain that offers Greek froyo. This branch opened in 2021.
• Nick the Greek, 309 Gellert Blvd B, opened at the Gellert Marketplace in 2022.
• San Froyo, 37 Serramonte Center, opened in 2025. The shop is self-serve. This is San Froyo’s third location. It also has shops in San Bruno, CA, and Richmond, TX. It was founded in 2022 in San Bruno.

Closed Businesses That Served Froyo

• Planet Yogurt, 40 Serramonte Center, opened inside Serramonte Center in 2008, in the food court area. It was self-serve, with twelve flavors a day. The shop closed in 2018.
• Yogurt Circle, 500 Westlake Center, opened in 2008 and closed in 2013. The self-serve froyo shop carried eight flavors a day. You could also order crepes, beverages, and Mitchell’s Ice Cream.

Open But No Longer Serves Froyo

• Jamba, 340 Westlake Center, may have opened in 2006. It served Whirl’ns mix-in style froyo from 2011 - 2013.
• Jamba, 127-J Serramonte Center, may have opened in 2007 and probably offered Whirl’ns as well.
• Loop Neighborhood Market, 390 Hickey Blvd, opened in 2013 with self-serve froyo
• Loop Neighborhood Market, 398 Gellert Blvd, opened in 2010 with self-serve froyo
• Loop Neighborhood Market, 950 Hillside Blvd., opened in 2013 with self-serve froyo
• Quickly, 175 Southgate Ave, I had froyo here in 2008. I’m not sure how long they offered froyo. The shop opened in 2006.

Did I miss any places to get froyo in Daly City? 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.

An Update on Loop Neighborhood, Froyo Disappears

 

where the froyo station used to be

Fro-yo girl here. In 2015, I wrote about Loop Neighborhood, the new kind of convenience store founded in Northern California in 2013 and located at Shell gas stations. Loop carried healthier options and had a modern, sleek design. Some of their stores even offered self-serve froyo. They chose top-of-the-line Electro Freeze soft serve machines, Dannon Yo Cream froyo, and flat-rate pricing. I went once and the froyo was too soft – so there was some issue with how they were using and maintaining those soft serve machines, unfortunately. 

Over the years, I watched Loop grow and I was excited because it meant more places to get froyo. In 2017, Loop had 23 locations in Northern California. By 2020, Loop had 35 stores and 33 of them offered self-serve froyo. The Loop website indicated which locations offered froyo.

And then the pandemic struck. I’m assuming that this is why they stopped offering froyo. Self-serve froyo wasn’t allowed for about a year.

Do any Loop Markets still carry froyo? The Union City branch removed the froyo machines and toppings bar and that area is now used for storage. I have the before (2018) and after pictures (2024).

where the froyo toppings used to be

froyo machines

Loop's website lists the features (e.g., coffee, car wash, Amazon lockers) and which locations offer each, but froyo is no longer on the website.

Loop currently has 56 markets in California. Other gas station convenience stores still offer self-serve froyo and they survived the pandemic, but those stores are not in California.

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.

History of Corner Stores & Froyo in San Francisco

Foodhall, San Francisco

Fro-yo girl here. Everything’s a little fancier in San Francisco, where corner stores and liquor stores just might carry soft serve froyo. The most famous of these is Michaelis Wine & Spirits in the Marina. Michaelis is a liquor store but they also have a counter for counter serve froyo and toppings towards the back of the store. They’ve been serving froyo for at least 15 years, I’m sure, but I’m not sure when they first started serving froyo. I can’t find reviews from over 15 years ago. Way back in 2005, they had 6 flavors of froyo a day and reviewers liked the generous servings and low prices. It was the first liquor store I ever got froyo from. 

Foodhall, which opened in 2016, is an upscale corner market with a coffee bar, pastries, cheese, produce, pantry staples, flowers, and a large wine and spirits collection. And yes, they serve froyo too. It’s Italian style, plain soft serve, made with local Straus organic milk. There are fancy toppings like hazelnuts, olive oil, pine nuts, and espresso.

Loop Neighboorhood opened its first location in 2013. Started by Bay Area gas station operator, Vintners Distribution, Loop envisioned a new type of convenience store, an upscale one that offered healthy food and fresh foods in an inviting environment. There are currently 35 Loop markets and 33 of those have self-serve froyo. Luckily, all three San Francisco locations offer self-serve froyo.

Corner Stores That Used to Offer Froyo

New Russian Hill Market on Pacific Ave. used to offer self-serve froyo but it looks like they discontinued doing so around 2012.

K & D Market on 16th St. in the Mission is a small liquor store that serves Korean food and used to (?) serve froyo. The newest review that mentions froyo is from 2015 and the neon frozen yogurt sign was removed.

Walgreens isn’t exactly a corner store but when they opened the Union Square flagship in 2013, they had self-serve froyo. Walgreens stopped offering self-serve froyo in 2017. Their Upmarket concept was similar to Loop Neighborhood.

Here are the addresses of the markets with froyo:

• Michaelis Wine & Spirits, 2198 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
• Foodhall, 3100 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94103
• Loop Neighborhood, 2890 3rd St., San Francisco, CA 94107
• Loop Neighborhood, 1200 19th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122
• Loop Neighborhood, 2501 California St, San Francisco, CA 94115

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.

Loop Neighborhood Coming to Union City, CA (Bringing More Froyo?)

Fro-yo girl here. I first wrote about Loop Neighborhood in May 2015. At the time, it had about a dozen locations in Northern California. The first location opened in June 2013. Loop seeks to be a new kind of convenience store, with a nicer café, water for your pets, healthier food, a soup bar, coffee and a frozen yogurt stand, featuring self-serve froyo and toppings.

Loop currently has 23 locations in Northern California and a new one is being built at the corner of Decoto Rd. and Alvarado-Niles Blvd. in Union City, CA. There was a Shell Gas station at that corner before but it’s been demolished.

I assume that the new location will have froyo.

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

* LOOP NEIGHBORHOOD: 32187 Alvarado Niles Rd., Union City, CA 94587

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.