Meet the Owner of Menchie's Peppertree Plaza

Fro-yo girl here. I had the chance to sit down and chat with Bob Lillard, owner of Menchie's Peppertree Plaza and resident of San Ramon. This is Bob's first fro-yo shop and the first northern California location of Menchie's.

How he wound up owning a Menchie's store. Bob's previous experiences include managing food and clothing stores and more recently, owning an IT business. On his annual trip to Yosemite with friends, he reconnected with a brother of a friend (Larry) who happened to be the owner of two Menchie's locations in SoCal. Bob already liked fro-yo, particularly the self-serve concept, and after talking to Larry, he was intrigued by the idea of owning his own Menchie's store. After he met the founders, he was convinced that Menchie's was the right opportunity for him.

What happens at the Menchie's new owner training. New owners go through a 1 week training session. They learn about how to operate the store, how to break down the fro-yo machines, how to fill the machines, how to troubleshoot the machines, etc. They also work in Menchie's stores to get hands on experience in all aspects of running the shop, from working the cash register, to cutting the fruit and beyond.

What makes Menchie's different. Customer service, being part of the community and the fun of making your own mix. He received over 250 job applications and so he was able to pick and choose people who were friendly and welcoming. He expects employees to greet each customer. New customers are given a quick explanation of how things work. He's arranged to offer free fro-yo to several elementary schools in the area. Some customers go there once, even twice a day and he's received many compliments about the fro-yo and the customer service.

Does he have good swirling skills? He says yes.

Does he eat fro-yo every day? Yes. And he's only tried 25 of the 100 or so Menchie's flavors, so he's still got plenty of flavors to try.

What's his favorite Menchie's mix? Red velvet fro-yo with fresh raspberries and cheesecake bits

What you didn't know about Menchie's Peppertree Plaza. The opening date was selected after consulting the Chinese calendar for a lucky day and the store has good feng shui. You may spot a lucky cat on the premises.

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

* MENCHIE'S PEPPERTREE PLAZA: 973 E. Stanley Blvd., Livermore, CA

Menchie's Peppertree Plaza Grand Opening Coverage

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie's Livermore turned 2 weeks old today and this weekend they're sharing the fro-yo love with a grand opening celebration. It started today at 11 AM...people lined up early hoping to be one of the first 25. The first 25 customers received a Menchie's gift bag. I'm looking at mine now and I have pictures to share.

* Signature bag with a picture of Menchie, Menchie's mix master magnet, Menchie's balloons (one pink, one green - their signature colors), a Menchie's wrist watch, Menchie's temporary tattoos, Menchie's round stickers, Menchie's button, Menchie's pencil that says what's your mix, white & black cotton t-shirt that you can color to make it look like your favorite mix, buy one get one free coupons. Yes, all that was in one gift bag.



Menchie came out from time to time to wave at customers and pose for pictures. There was also a life-size inflatable Menchie's doll out front. They were handing out free kids t-shirts and they had markers out front to color them in.

If you live close by, you may have been lucky enough to get a Menchie's doorhanger style coupon (it's a buy one get one free deal). They also had an ad in the Independent.



I'll have more about my visit in the next few days. I'll tell you what I learned about Menchie and share an interview with the owner of the Livermore Menchie's location.

If you get a chance, you should check out Menchie's grand opening celebration tomorrow. The first 25 customers will get a gift bag and Menchie will be there again! Also the pre-packed fro-yo quarts are buy one get one free; such a good deal!

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

* MENCHIE'S PEPPERTREE PLAZA: 973 E. Stanley Blvd., Livermore, CA