Monrovia, California Froyo Guide

Pinkberry Monrovia

Fro-yo girl here. Who knew that Monrovia, CA, a city of 36,000 inhabitants in the San Gabriel Mountains (Northeast Los Angeles County), was such a froyo hot spot? Most of the froyo shops were in downtown Monrovia, on or off Myrtle Ave. There are two froyo shops left: Yogurtland and Pinkberry. They’re within a few blocks of each other in downtown Monrovia. The first froyo shops opened in 2008.

Froyo shops of Monrovia:

• AM Donut & Yogurt, 305 W Huntington Dr, used to have self-serve froyo from 2011-2013. The wall still has cutouts though, 3 of them, for 3 froyo machines.
• Cherry on Top, 176 West Foothill Boulevard, was part of a national self-serve froyo chain. The Monrovia location first opened in 2008 and closed in 2015 with an eviction.
• Menchie’s, 606 W Huntington Dr, was one of the better Menchie’s locations in the area. Located at the Huntington Oaks Shopping Center, it first opened in 2014 and closed in 2018.
• N2 Lab, 131 S Myrtle Ave, was open in 2019 and probably closed in 2019. They had a few locations in Southern California and specialized in making ice cream or frozen yogurt with liquid nitrogen.
• Pinkberry, 612 S Myrtle Ave, opened in 2008 and the next closest one is in Los Feliz or Burbank. RIP, Pinkberry Pasadena and Azusa.
• White Tara Yogurt, 346 W Huntington Dr, Monrovia, CA 91016, was a short-lived, self-serve, independent froyo shop that was in business from 2010-2011. It doesn’t look like there were other locations.
• Yogurtland, 104 S Myrtle Ave, opened in 2012 and offers 16 self-serve froyo flavors a day.

While Monrovia hasn’t had the most innovative or unique froyo shops, they’ve kept people in the area supplied with froyo for 13 years and counting.

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.

Menchie’s Monrovia Closes

Fro-yo girl here. I was somewhat surprised to learn that Menchie’s Monrovia at the Huntington Oaks Plaza closed earlier this year. I’d been going there for years and it always seemed to be empty. Then several Menchie’s opened closer to where I live (Glendale, Eagle Rock, El Monte, South El Monte), so I stopped going to the Monrovia location.

That isn’t to say that I won’t miss Menchie’s Monrovia. Two years ago I named it as the best Menchie’s in the area. The service was great, they usually had the new flavors, and they usually answered the phone. Reading reviews from this year, Menchie’s Monrovia reduced its hours and wasn’t open on weekends. The toppings supplier claims that their company hasn't been paid.

The Monrovia location still looks like a Menchie’s though the froyo machines and toppings bar have been removed. They have a custom Menchie’s Huntington Oaks mat that I’d love to have. There is no sign in the window explaining why they closed.

RIP, Menchie’s Monrovia.

* MENCHIE’S: 606 W Huntington Dr., Monrovia, CA 91016

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.

Favorite Locations of Froyo Chains

Fro-yo girl here. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with many frozen yogurt shops, you may live close to more than one location of the same chain. You may have noticed that not all locations of the same chain are the same. In Los Angeles, the chains with the largest presence are Menchie’s, Pinkberry, Tutti Frutti and Yogurtland. I’d like to recognize my favorite locations of major frozen yogurt chains. Thank you! 

• Yogurtland: The Yogurtland Pasadena location (415 S Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA) is by far my favorite Yogurtland location (I’ve also been to many other Yogurtland locations in the area – San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Alhambra, Eagle Rock, Old Town Pasadena, Montebello, Arcadia, Monrovia, etc.). Not only is the customer service extra friendly, but they keep up with Yogurtland promotions (e.g., if a collectible spoon or new flavor is supposed to be available on a certain day, this location will be ready and have it in stock). The location is clean with easy parking, the price is lower, they update their Facebook page unlike many Yogurtland locations, they participate in community events, they update the flavors on the Real Rewards app every morning (thank you!) and they have many promotions including the cold day discount, student discount, etc. They were one of the few locations to have a Kung Fu Panda 3 release party. On a sad note, they've never offered cookie dividers, they don't have the new syrups dispenser unit with Magic Shell and peanut butter sauce, and they need to rotate flavors more often. Bring back chocolate milkshake, flan, oatmeal cookies and lemon cookie.

• Pinkberry: The Pinkberry Americana location (459 Americana Way, Glendale, CA) is one of the largest of their locations. It’s also one of their busiest. The associates seem extra friendly here. They’ve had test flavors in the past. The décor is cheerful yet soothing and I do love strolling around the Americana outdoor mall. Parking can be a challenge though. The downtown Burbank location also is appealing when I'm feeling like self-serve. The sample cups are on the counter for easy sampling.

• Menchie’s: While the other Menchie’s locations in the area often don’t have the new flavors on the launch date, Menchie’s Monrovia (606 W Huntington Dr., Monrovia, CA) usually has those flavors. And when the other Menchie’s locations (South Pasadena, Alhambra) ran out of Menchie’s Alvin spoons, Menchie’s Monrovia still had the Alvin spoons. Menchie’s Monrovia has also been known to hand out coupons and they have more promotions than the other Menchie’s locations in the area. They're the best about answering the phone when you call. If you're in the SFV, Menchie's Encino (17245 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA) is the best place to go - as the training center (aka Menchie's University), they frequently test new flavors and products and the froyo texture is always spot on (plus they're extra friendly).

• Tutti Frutti: Tutti Frutti La Crescenta (3731 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta, CA) has all kinds of cute Tutti Frutti signs, plus cute TF cups and fruit shaped yogurt spoons. This location has more toppings and interesting flavors that I haven’t seen at other Tutti Frutti locations (e.g., cereal milk, peanut butter soy). They also carried soy frozen yogurt for a year but the last time I went it wasn’t there. I found light up Tutti Frutti spoons here. They also have happy hours, coffee and boba drinks. For SFV dwellers, Tutti Frutti Northridge (10186 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, CA) has better flavors, TF spoons, and drinks. 

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.