Pinkberry Closes in San Francisco

Fro-yo girl here. My state of shock continues. I’m still grieving over the closure of Pinkberry in Pasadena in 2015. Then they closed the wonderful Glendale/The Americana location last year. Last month, Pinkberry La Canada, which had become my regular Pinkberry, closed. Around that time, some time in January 2019, Pinkberry closed its sole San Francisco location, in front of Macy’s Union Square (170 O’Farrell St., San Francisco, CA).

This was their only location in SF. Yes, they have a location at SFO but the airport isn’t technically in San Francisco though the address is in San Francisco. I visited the Union Square location many times, since it was there when I lived in San Francisco. Tracy T. & I met there quite a few times. It was the most convenient location for me to visit. I remember being there for the grand opening in 2012. It was the first and last time I tried their lemon cookie crunch topping. When Pinkberry SF opened, it was the 200th location. RIP.

I noticed the Pinkberry SF Google Places listing says it's temporarily closed. Could it be true? I'm not too optimistic. Pinkberry locations keep closing. The Bay Area still has a few Pinkberry locations: Palo Alto, San Jose - Pueblo Plaza, Sunnyvale, and SFO.

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.

San Francisco Froyo Guide

Fro-yo girl here. It’s been almost three years since my Fro-yo Visitor’s Guide to San Francisco post and it’s time for an update. Sadly, some of the frozen yogurt shops on the original list are no longer in business but the good news is that new places have opened. This guide contains the frozen yogurt shops that are worth visiting.

* Hayes Valley: Hayes Valley, the artsy shopping/dining district has long been devoid of good dessert places but all that has changed and the neighborhood is now a frozen dessert mecca with Smitten (freshly made nitrogen ice cream), Miette (ice cream sandwiches made with Straus organic ice cream) and my froyo pick. Souvla (517 Hayes St.) is a crazy popular casual Greek eatery that specializes in spit-fired all natural meats. Get a Greek sandwich or salad, drink some Greek wine or beer and enjoy a cup of creamy Greek froyo for dessert. The Greek frozen yogurt comes in one size and one flavor (plain) with your choice of toppings: baklava crumbles with syrup, sour cherry, olive oil and sea salt or honey. It comes in a cute coffee cup that’s perfect for strolling over to Patricia’s Green (Octavia at Hayes), the neighborhood urban park with rotating art exhibits. 

* Japantown/Fillmore: There are so many cute places to shop in Japantown. My top picks are New People, Daiso, Ichiban Kan and Kinokuniya. Fillmore St. is also a shopping destination with Marc by Marc Jacobs, Paper Source, Jonathan Adler, Steven Alan, NARS, Kiehl’s and Nest. Fraiche Yogurt (1910 Fillmore St.) offers artisanal yogurt and fro-yo made from scratch. The soy fro-yo is excellent and the combination of steel cut oatmeal and fro-yo is an unexpected delight. The housemade chocolate shell sauce is out of this world. I also recommend afternoon tea at the British owned Crown & Crumpet (1746 Post St., make reservations) and Jane (2123 Fillmore St.) for a fresh baked treat and Four Barrel Coffee.

* Union Square: No trip to San Francisco is complete without visiting Union Square, the main shopping destination in SF. Pinkberry (170 O’Farrell St.) is conveniently located at Macy’s Union Square. There are other froyo shops in the downtown area (e.g., Yoppi, Caffe Ambrosia) but Pinkberry is the best one. You can never go wrong with the original tart with fresh fruit – such a refreshing, light treat after a long day of shopping.

* Castro/Noe Valley/Inner Sunset: Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt (4028 24th St., 718 Irving St., 4092 18th St.) became the International Frozen Yogurt Association’s first Swirl of Honor recipient. Look for the IFYA Swirl of Honor decal and know that you’re in for a treat – hand-crafted unique frozen yogurt and frozen custard flavors (e.g., Lemon Ginger Zinger, Cherry Marzipan, Vietnamese Coffee, Banana Cream Pie), including organic and non-dairy flavors made with almond milk and coconut milk. There are three locations and the décor is super cute. Swirl your own cup and head over to the toppings bar which features local toppings and toppings you won’t see elsewhere. The Inner Sunset location is close to the San Francisco Botanical Garden (9th Ave. & Lincoln) and museums in Golden Gate Park.

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.

Super Bowl Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry San Francisco vs. Pinkberry Baltimore - which one do I prefer? Based on the two Pinkberry fro-yo creations alone, I’m going to have to choose Pinkberry Baltimore. The original tart flavor is clearly Pinkberry’s best and the Baltimore comes with better toppings too (though I wish the Baltimore had pomegranate seeds).

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

Fro-yo Wish List for 2012

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Fro-yo New Year! It's a new year and time for my new fro-yo wish list. These are the things I’d like to see happen this year.

* Yogurtland in San Francisco. It’s crazy that SF doesn’t have a Yogurtland. The new one in Burlingame will be close but I’d really like to have one in SF.
* Pinkberry in San Francisco. Their SFO airport location is too inconvenient since it requires one to go through security. How can SF still be so deprived? This year I’m going to buy a cup of Pinkberry fro-yo and stroll onto a plane with it.
* Fro-yo popsicles. I’m still waiting for decent fro-yo popsicles that I can buy from a supermarket and aren’t from Korea.
* Mochi fro-yo. Since Mikawaya and others have figured out how to get ice cream into mochi, they could easily do the same with fro-yo. Everyone knows that fro-yo and mochi go well together.

If anyone wants to create a fro-yo flavor in my honor, make sure it has red bean.

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