Pasadena 2020 Froyo Report

Fro-yo girl here. Has it really been over seven years since my last Pasadena froyo report? The coronavirus outbreak has inspired me to update my old posts. I can’t go out for froyo that often, so it’s a good time to reflect.

Every froyo shop mentioned in the 2013 report has closed, except for 21 Choices, which moved about a block or two from its previous location in Old Town Pasadena. The new address is 44 N Fair Oaks Ave.

Closures since 2013 report:

• Buzio’s
• Cherry on Top
• Moka Café
• Pinkberry

Cold Stone Creamery is still open, but it’s not a froyo shop. I think they still have scoopable froyo. Jamba Juice stopped offering mix-in froyo at all their locations.

Since the 2013 report, the following froyo shops have opened in Pasadena:

• Blissery Frozen Yogurt, 1727 E Washington Blvd, took over the Yoguroo space in East Pasadena and was in business from 2013-2017. They made the space more colorful.
• Bloomfield Creamery, 1727 E Washington Blvd, took over the Blissery space in 2017. They kept the self-serve froyo but added their own ice cream and cookie dough. They made it less colorful.
• Freshii inside Target on Colorado briefly served froyo starting in 2016 and then closed in 2017.
• Froyolife, 1709 E Colorado Blvd, was part of a small local self-serve froyo chain which only has one location left, in downtown Montrose. The Pasadena location was across the street from Pasadena City College and was only open from 2014-2015. The Los Feliz location was razed and will be replaced by a medical office. Yawn.
• Sunlife Organics, 146 S Lake Ave., opened in 2016 and had organic froyo. It was one size, huge, and it wasn’t that good. I’m not sure if they still offer froyo but it isn’t listed on their online menu.
• Yogurtland Lake, 415 S Lake Ave., C107, opened in 2013 and was my regular location for years. I have many fond memories of this location. Sadly, ownership changed in December 2018 and things went downhill quickly. It’s still open but a shell of its former self.
• Yogurtland Old Town Pasadena, 30 W Colorado Blvd, was the second Yogurtland location to open in Pasadena, CA and it operated from 2014-2019. The Old Town location was smaller with fewer machines than the Lake location. It looks like someone new is taking over the space.

So, the current places for soft-serve froyo in Pasadena are: 

• 21 Choices
• Bloomfield Creamery
• Yogurtland Lake

And in South Pasadena:

• Menchie’s 
• Penguin’s

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.

21 Choices Frozen Yogurt Pasadena – It’s Back

Fro-yo girl here. Pasadena froyo eaters, the day you’ve been waiting here has finally arrived. After ten long months, during which their building was being seismically retrofitted, 21 Choices has reopened as of today, April 22, 2017. The marble slabs aren’t working though, so they’re only doing soft serves this weekend.

The opening flavors are:

• French vanilla
• Old school chocolate
• Simply yogurt (plain tart)
• Princess peach 
• Circus animal cookie
• Nutella malt
• (Non-dairy) Peanut butter pretzel: Made with natural peanut butter, pretzels, chocolate chips and organic soy milk
• Root beer float

I like getting the soy milk non-dairy soft serve when it’s available. It’s one of the few places to get soy based froyo. Their peanut butter flavors are great too.

The interior looked similar to what I remember. Mix-ins will be available this Tuesday.

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

* 21 CHOICES: 85 W Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105

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.

21 Choices Pasadena to Reopen Any Day Now

Fro-yo girl here. I know I’ve posted several updates about 21 Choices reopening. The retrofitting of their building took longer than anticipated. However, I do have good news to report. Today, the window shades at 21 Choices were down for the first time in months and I spotted four people inside. One guy was polishing the floors. The shop looks ready to reopen. They even had froyo in the machines today and some toppings…BUT they are waiting on one last permit, so they’re not sure exactly when they will reopen. It will be any day now – tomorrow, Sunday or Monday is the best guess. And yes, they really missed you too.

The other businesses in that building have all reopened, including a new clothing retailer from NYC.

Check 21choices.com – if you see the flavors listed for Pasadena, you’ll know that they’ve reopened. This is my last update till they actually reopen. 

UPDATE: They'll reopen on April 22, Earth Day!

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

* 21 CHOICES: 85 W Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105

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.

Blissery Closes, 21 Choices Expected to Reopen March 20

Fro-yo girl here. Pasadena’s always had quite a few froyo shops, but their number has dwindled with a few recent closures. Buzio’s closed its doors in late December. Honestly, I went there once and didn’t like it, so I wasn’t too sad to see it close.

Now Blissery on Washington Blvd. has closed for good. Before Blissery opened, the space was occupied by another froyo shop called Yoguroo. Blissery remodeled not long ago but they still closed the business. The sign outside is gone.

This leaves only three froyo shops in Pasadena: 2 Yogurtland locations and Cherry on Top. 21 Choices should return this month (it’s expected to open on March 20). Last year, two new places started offering froyo in Pasadena, Sunlife Organics and Freshii inside Target.

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

* BLISSERY FROZEN YOGURT: 1727 E Washington Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91104

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.

21 Choices Pasadena IS Reopening Soon

Fro-yo girl here. It’s been a long time since 21 Choices brought smiles to the faces of Old Town Pasadena visitors. Their building was closed for months for earthquake retrofitting. Some despaired that 21 Choices would never reopen.

Good news Pasadena froyo eaters. Progress has been made and the 21 Choices equipment has been taken out of storage. The froyo machines are back.

The new sign says that they are “hiring for store opening in late February-March.” 21 Choices Pasadena is almost back.

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

* 21 CHOICES: 85 W Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105

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.

Old Town Pasadena Pinkberry Closes

Fro-yo girl here. I have sad news – the Old Town Pasadena Pinkberry location just closed. I was just there last week. There are already signs up for the business that will take over the space: Paradise Cookies & Ice Cream. I’ve seen their truck around but haven’t tried it – they don’t have froyo. So sad…RIP, Old Town Pinkberry (2007-2015).

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

* PINKBERRY: 19 S Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105

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.

Pasadena Fro-yo Report: Fro-yo vs. Cupcakes

Fro-yo girl here. Lovely Pasadena, the 9th largest city in Los Angeles County, has quite a few fro-yo options. While the line always seems to be the longest at 21 Choices, several fro-yo shops in town closed last year including Cantaloop, Frozziyo, and Yoguroo.

I’ve mentioned 21 Choices several times on this blog. It’s similar to Cold Stone Creamery only with fro-yo as a base and better toppings than CSC. The mix-ins are added to your fro-yo on a cold slab and mixed together. 

In Old Town, other fro-yo options include Pinkberry (a smaller location), Moka Cafe, TCBY/Mrs. Fields, Jamba Juice and Cold Stone Creamery. TCBY and Cold Stone Creamery offer scoopable fro-yo. Jamba Juice has a mix-in style similar to Yogen Fruz. 21 Choices has many more mix-ins than Jamba Juice. Moka Cafe offers two flavors of fro-yo a day (not self-serve) and feels more like a coffeehouse than a fro-yo shop.

The self-serve frozen yogurt shops are closer to CalTech and Pasadena City College. Buzio’s and Cherry on Top are both self-serve fro-yo shops. Buzio’s is independently owned while Cherry on Top is a SoCal based chain. Cherry on Top also offers pretty good tea based drinks there, including boba milk tea.

The nearest Yogurtland is several miles away in Alhambra, while Menchie’s, Buster’s and Penguin’s offer fro-yo in South Pasadena.

I’m pretty sure that there are more cupcake shops in Pasadena than fro-yo places. Once you reach Alhambra, fluff ice and boba tea places seem more popular than fro-yo. 

If I had to pick a favorite fro-yo shop in Pasadena, I’d choose 21 Choices. Some of the fro-yo flavors that have candy and cookies mixed in are so good! Plus the flavors are more customized. Try the Circus Animal Cookie fro-yo. 

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

* 21 CHOICES FROZEN YOGURT: 85 West Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104