Tuttimelon Reopens in Fairfield, CA

Fro-yo girl. Tuttimelon has reopened at Solano Town Center in Fairfield, California. I reported that the Fairfield location closed. Their last Facebook post was made in June 2021 and the last Instagram post in July 2020. They opened and closed a few times during the pandemic but then went silent.

However, the Daily Republic reports that Tuttimelon reopened in the spring of this year and it’s back on the Solano Town Center website. The hours on Google were updated 4 weeks ago.

An unexpected Tuttimelon comeback!

* TUTTIMELON: 1350 Travis Blvd, Fairfield, CA 94533

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.

The Last Tuttimelon Location

Tuttimelon Novato

Fro-yo girl. Four years ago, I wrote about the history of Tuttimelon, which at one point had about 30 locations. By 2017, there were only four branches left: Alameda, Fairfield, Novato, and Ontario. Tuttimelon Ontario closed in 2019. Tuttimelon Alameda and Tuttimelon Fairfield made it to 2020 but closed for good in late 2020, due to the pandemic.

This means that there is just one last Tuttimelon open, Tuttimelon Novato. It seems to be going strong. Tuttimelon Novato, established in 2010. Tuttimelon is still going strong in Novato. “Tuttimelon specializes in premium self created fat free frozen yogurt along with an extensive toppings bar. Featuring "Tutti-WOW" with only 64 calories /cup, all natural, lactose free and very low carbs! Come taste a truly guiltless pleasure. We also serve 26 wonderful flavors of hand crafted, artisan Gelatos. While you're there, try the 100% fruit and vegetable granitas (smoothies) from Italy and the fresh baked gourmet stuffed soft pretzels and Belgium Waffles. The Novato location specializes in creating their own unique flavor offerings in Yogurt and Gelato, featuring the best / healthiest ingredients available.”

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

TUTTIMELON: Vintage Oaks At Novato, 132 Vintage Way #F-9, Novato, CA 94945

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.

Tuttimelon’s Last Locations

Fro-yo girl. I’ve written many blog posts about Tuttimelon and I used to go there all time, several years ago. I recently read that their last San Francisco location, the one on Broadway in Chinatown, had closed for good.

Tuttimelon opened its first location on February 2, 2008 at 2015 Irving St. in San Francisco. I was there on day one when they only had one flavor, original tart. By Feburary 2010, they had 16 locations in the Bay Area and one in Canada. By August 2010, they had 25 locations. The next year they opened more locations in the US and added locations in Hong Kong and the Philippines. At one point, it seemed like there was a Tuttimelon in almost every neighborhood in San Francisco. They had more locations in San Francisco than any other froyo company (a record that still hasn’t been broken).

Sad times followed as locations started to close. What happened? I can only speculate. The frozen yogurt tasted great and they developed their own flavors. Their gelato was good too. 

The main reason that so many Tuttimelon locations closed is probably legal. The California Corporations Commissioner ruled that Yoogo Corporation violated Corporations Code section 31110 by selling franchises which they called trademark license agreements but that were franchises under California law. A desist and refrain order was issued in October 2011 whereby Yoogo Corporation was ordered to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale of Tuttimelon franchises, or any other franchises, unless and until the offers have been duly registered under the Franchise Investment Law, or exempted thereunder. The Yoogo Corporation has been dissolved. The fees and penalties associated with selling a disguised franchise are quite high and likely this is what led to Tuttimelon and Teaway's demise. Interestingly, Tutti Frutti was also found in violation of franchising laws though they offered licensing agreements to shop operators.

As a customer, I noticed two other factors:

(1) Lack of marketing and community involvement beyond the grand opening. Their grand opening celebrations always attracted big crowds and they were generous about giving out free froyo and prizes. But after the grand opening, I didn’t notice much marketing. I didn’t hear about community outreach and involvement either. They stopped updating their Facebook page for Tuttimelon and Teaway in 2013. Their website looks like it hasn't been updated in years.

(2) Inconsistent customer experience and product quality. I noticed that some locations didn’t accept coupons and gift cards from other Tuttimelon locations and the stamp cards only worked for certain locations. There wasn’t a consistent policy across locations. I also started to notice that the fruit and toppings weren’t always fresh. The Chinatown location froyo texture always seemed runny. I assume that they grew so fast that they weren’t spending enough time on quality control.

I went to Tuttimelon in Alameda, CA last year and had a cup of the Original Tart. It was still tuttilicious, so that made me happy.

The remaining Tuttimelon locations in the US are:

• Alameda, 2402 Central Ave, Alameda, CA 94501 (also a Teaway)
• Fairfield, Solano Town Center, 1350 Travis Blvd F13, Fairfield, CA 94533
• Novato, Vintage Oaks At Novato, 132 Vintage Way #F-9, Novato, CA 94945
• Ontario, Ontario Mills, 4449 Mills Cir, Ontario, CA 91764

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.

2014 Bay Area Froyo Year in Review

Fro-yo girl here. It’s time to look about at the year in froyo in the Bay Area. Since I’ve moved to SoCal, this will be the last Bay Area yearly review.

Closings slightly outpaced openings. Most of the openings occurred in the South Bay (San Jose area), followed by San Francisco openings. New froyo shops continued to replace old ones (e.g., Pure Yum, Yogurt in Love, Over the Moon). With two new San Jose locations opening in 2014, Yogurtland has the most locations in the Bay Area of any chain. They plan to open a location in Mountain View, CA soon. Red Mango opened a location at the San Jose International Airport last month.

Bay Area Openings 

• Easy Breezy Inner Sunset (San Francisco)
• Fusion Mix (Fremont)
• Honeyberry (Oakland)
• Loving Cup Hayes Valley (San Francisco)
• Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt (Oakridge Mall, San Jose & Dublin)
• Over the Moon Ice Cream & Cookies (2 locations, they took over Yogorino’s SF locations and kept the yogurt machines, and they still serve froyo)
• Pure Yum (Fremont, former FreshBerry location)
• Red Mango (San Jose International Airport)
• Souvla (San Francisco)
• YoDo Yogurt (Campbell)
• Yogurt in Love (Los Gatos)
• Yogurtland Brokaw, Cambrian Park, Cottle Rd. (San Jose)
• Yogurtland (Morgan Hill)

Most of the closings occurred in San Jose. Notable closings include Yogurt Delite’s two locations in San Jose. Both locations survived for decades. Tuttimelon closed its flagship Irving St. location (they moved from the original location on Irving St. to a larger location – the larger location closed) and one of its earliest locations on Chestnut St. in San Francisco. Icebee was the earliest self-serve shops in SF and it recently closed. Yogen Fruz opened its first location in the Bay Area at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco in early 2008, that location closed this year. Tutti Frutti closed several locations this year. The shops that closed were diverse – some were new self-serve shops and others had been around for decades. Some sold froyo only and others like Next Door Sweets and Good Bellies had many offerings plus froyo.

Bay Area Closings

• Cultive (San Francisco)
• Fro-Yo Shoppe (Mountain View)
• Froyo Delight (San Jose)
• Gaga Yogurt (San Jose)
• Good Bellies (Oakland)
• Icebee (San Francisco & San Jose)
• Next Door Sweets (San Francisco)
• Tuttimelon Chestnut St. & Irving St. (San Francisco)
• Tutti Frutti Oak Grove & Palos Verdes Mall (Walnut Creek)
• Tutti Frutti (Milpitas)
• Tutti Frutti Silver Creek (San Jose)
• Yogen Fruz (San Francisco)
• Yogurt Delite (Blossom Valley & Meridian, San Jose)
• Yogurt Village (San Jose)
• Yogurt Walk (Dublin)
• Yotopia (San Francisco)

More froyo shops are on the way in 2015.

Future Openings

• Easy Breezy Castro (San Francisco)
• Yogurtland (Mountain View)

For a comprehensive review of froyo events in 2014, check out IFYA's post on key events in the froyo industry in 2014 post.

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.

A Notable Passing: Tuttimelon Closes Its Irving Location

Fro-yo girl here. A new ice cream sandwich shop called Swich just opened at 2045 Irving St. in San Francisco, CA…the former Tuttimelon location. While many frozen yogurt shops close, this particular Tuttimelon location and the original location at 2150 Irving St. were special to me as a frozen yogurt fan. 

February 2, 2008 – the first day at Tuttimelon’s first location at 2150 Irving St. (Outer Sunset) and I was there. I had a cup of original tart with red beans as a topping. It was my favorite frozen yogurt shop back then and it was open late every day, even on Christmas. I could have delicious extra tart froyo whenever I wanted it. When it started out, Tuttimelon only had one flavor, original tart, but oh, what a delightful flavor. I couldn’t get enough of it, especially when sprinkled with green tea powder.

February 2 later became known as Tuttimelon Day. Two two, tutti, get it?

The original location was the size of a closet, so they moved up the street and let customers serve themselves. The new location at 2045 Irving St. opened on October 24, 2009. I was there with Tracy T. and Danny (now engaged) and I met Matt G. (Fro-Yo Boy) and Wilhelm Y. I got a ride in the Tuttimobile and a Tuttimelon umbrella. Tuttimelon Bear and Joe Cool met for the first time and became friends.

http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2009/10/tuttimelon-irving-grand-opening.html

I remember going to Tuttimelon to meet Jonathan W., to collect Tuttispoons, feeding Tuttimelon Bear, and to stock up on the 99 cents/cup special.

The original Tuttimelon location became a Teaway (same ownership), the first self-serve bubble tea bar. It’s still a Teaway.

The Tuttimelon on Chestnut St. closed around the same time as the Irving location. They still have a San Francisco location: Teaway/Tuttimelon on Broadway in Chinatown…but it’s not the same as the Irving location. I will always have the fondest memories of Tuttimelon Irving. How I loved their almond, pomegranate, original, mango and Japanese yogurt froyo.

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.

Fro-yo Visitor’s Guide to SF

Fro-yo girl here. Before I go on any trip, I’ll research the fro-yo shops in the area to see which ones are worth visiting. I’ve put together a list of notable SF fro-yo spots for fro-yo tourists. 

* AT&T Park: Visit Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt on 219 King St., between the Caltrain station and AT&T Park for the best organic fro-yo in SF. Be sure to sample their perfect original tart and signature Blush flavor (pomegranate-dragonfruit). Safeway offers parking validation in their parking structure.
* Embarcadero/Ferry Building: Hit Yogorino at the Embarcadero Center (50 Drumm St.) for gourmet, decadent Italian fro-yo. There’s one flavor and the toppings are imported from Italy. SF and Philly are the only US cities to have Yogorino locations. Or get your Straus Family Creamery (organic & local) fro-yo at the Ferry Building at Gott’s to Go takeout window (1 Ferry Building) where you’ll find some of the best fro-yo toppings in town, including Miette’s cookies, McEvoy EVOO, and TCHO chocolate covered cacao nibs..
* Fisherman’s Wharf: Take your picture with the Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt head in a hole picture board at 475 Jefferson St. but get your fro-yo at Yogorino at 79 Jefferson St.
* Japantown/Fillmore: Take a break from shopping at Daiso and Ichiban Kan and walk over to Fraiche Yogurt (1910 Fillmore St.) for 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.
* Noe Valley/Castro: Try the popular new self-serve fro-yo spot, Easy Breezy (4028 24th St.) that opened last month. Look for local, organic fro-yo flavors and organic berries as toppings.
* Outer Sunset/Irving St.: Be sure to pay your respects to the original Tuttimelon location at 2150 Irving St. before walking over to their newer, larger, self-serve spot at 2045 Irving St. Save your Tutti Spoon to remind you of your trip to SF. If you’re thirsty or hungry, try Tuttimelon owned Teaway for tapioca drinks and Let’s Roll for katsu and takoyaki.

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

New Stampt Loyalty Card iPhone App

Fro-yo girl here. If you're like me, you have a zillion paper loyalty cards (many of them for fro-yo) in your wallet. I can't even fit them all in my wallet.

I just downloaded Stampt, a loyalty card iPhone app. It's free for consumers and free for businesses. Stampt features businesses across the U.S. and it shows you the closest businesses (based on your current location) that are using Stampt. You'll just scan (take a picture of) the Stampt Quick Scan Card near the cashier after your purchase and Stampt will automatically keep track of your stamps on your phone.

They put Tuttimelon on their home page, so I knew it was an app that I could use. The app was released two weeks ago. They've already signed up sandwich shops, video stores, coffeehouses, pizza places, smoothie places and more (with many more businesses to come). They'll also add Blackberry and Android apps soon.

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

Valentine's Day, Fro-yo Style

Fro-yo girl here. Valentine's Day is just around the corner and fro-yo makes a very romantic gift. Fro-yo gift cards are always an easy gift.

Fro-yo shop promotions:
* 32 Degrees: free Valentine's toppings starting on 2/11
* Nubi Yogurt: buy a $20 gift card (or more) between 2/1 - 2/14/2011 and then get a free medium fro-yo for yourself by bringing in your receipt by 2/20.
* Pinkberry: pick up a fancy Swirly Gram in stores from 2/11 - 2/14, while supplies last
* Tuttimelon Fresno: buy one, get one for 50% off on Valentine's Day between 10 AM - 9 PM
* Tuttimelon Modesto: Get an extra stamp for every purchase ($4 min) on Valentine's Day
* Yogurt Mountain, buy one, get one free fro-yo on Valentine's Day

Plenty of fro-yo fans would love to be taken to a fro-yo shop. You could even order a romantic cup of fro-yo (or swirl one at a self-serve place).

* Romantic fro-yo flavors: Chocolate, pomegranate, strawberry, raspberry, dulce de leche, red velvet. Menchie's introduced rose fro-yo and Yogen Fruz's valentine's NuMix creation is strawberry cheesecake.
* Romantic fro-yo toppings: Shaved chocolate, chocolate syrup/sauce, chocolate chips, Hershey's kisses, heart shaped sprinkles, pink & red sprinkles, strawberries, pomegranate seeds, raspberry, cinnamon, red hot candies, red velvet cake, whipped cream

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

Tuttimelon Day, Happy B-day Tuttimelon!

Fro-yo girl here. Tuttimelon turns 3 today...February 2nd...two two...tutti. It's been another busy year for them of course. They continued their expansion in the Bay Area, SoCal, and Central California (Fresno, Modesto)...and well beyond. Tuttimelon Hong Kong and Tuttimelon Philippines joined the Tuttimelon family. I downloaded their iPhone app, Make Froyo - it replicates the experience of swirling a cup of fro-yo and adding toppings, even mochi. They introduced new fro-yo flavors (my favorite is Japanese yogurt). Sadly, I haven't seen almond tart in the longest time. And I still don't have their special fro-yo spoons.

I've visited every location in NoCal except for Roseville. I recently visited Tuttimelon Fresno and Tuttimelon Novato.



Tuttimelon Novato
* 10 flavors of self-serve fro-yo, case of gelato
* Interesting toppings like crushed biscotti and crushed fortune cookies
* Sumo bowl
* Flat rate pricing for fro-yo cones
* Tuttimelon t-shirts for sale




Tuttimelon Fresno
* 10 self-serve flavors of fro-yo, case of gelato
* Nicer decor, lots of waves and curves
* Kid friendly, kid's table, Build a Bear promotion for parties, free fro-yo for b-day boy/girl, 10% off for the entire party
* Board games, magazines

Happy b-day Tuttimelon! You know I love you.

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

Best New Fro-yo Flavors in 2010

Fro-yo girl here. Before the year ends, I wanted to acknowledge my favorite new fro-yo flavors. These were fro-yo flavors introduced in the Bay Area during 2010. I didn't get a chance to try every new flavor but the following are the ones that I liked the best.

* Fraiche Yogurt's Pumpkin: Creamy, fresh, natural tasting, full of pumpkin flavor, this was a brilliant new flavor (only the fifth one they've introduced). It's even better with their homemade mochi.
* Blush's Pink Lemonade Tart: Blush comes out with amazing new flavors every year and this year my new favorite was Pink Lemonade. It's one of their tarter flavors but with the right amount of sweetness.
* Tuttimelon Japanese Yogurt: I fell in love with it the moment I tried it. Similar to their original fro-yo but with that distinctive tangy Yakult like flavor. You can still find it at their Irving St. location.
* Yogurtland Yuzu Tart Yogurt: Available a few months ago, it tasted like orange + lemon, tangy and sweet, the way I like my fro-yo

I'm excited about the new fro-yo flavors that 2011 will bring.

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

Christmas Fro-yo Gift Card Deals

Fro-yo girl here. Are you still looking for stocking stuffers? Give your fro-yo loving friend or family member fro-yo gift cards. Check out these special offers. I used to think gift cards were boring, but now I'm a fan (especially of the fro-yo ones).

* RED MANGO: Buy $25 worth of gift cards, get a $5 RM voucher for yourself
* TUTTIMELON: Buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a free small fro-yo with two toppings
* BLUSH ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: Buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a free small fro-yo with toppings
* GOLDEN SPOON: Buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a free small fro-yo (deal is only valid in Orange County, CA though)

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

Halloween Spirit Fro-yo Shop Report

Fro-yo girl here. I love it when Halloween is on a Sunday because Halloween festivities start up on Friday and it feels like a Halloween long weekend. It also gives me time to drive around the Bay Area and check out the fro-yo shops. This year I saw fewer and less elaborate Halloween decorations in fro-yo shops (compared to last year). Cupcake shops are showing more Halloween spirit.



My fro-yo shop 2010 Halloween Spirit Award goes to...Blush Burlingame. They transformed the store into an aquarium and gave out full size candy bars and snacks for kids and Blush frequent buyer cards with stamps for adults. And their pumpkin fro-yo is amazing.







I also checked out the following:
* JUBILI: some Halloween window decals, pumpkin inside
* FRAICHE: paper bats in the window, pumpkins inside
* TUTTIMELON UNION CITY: green spiderwebs above, fair amount of decorations
* TUTTIMELON BURLINGAME: some decorations
* TUTTIMELON WEST PORTAL: no Halloween decorations (sadly), but I still recommend their pumpkin gelato with a swirl of original tart on top
* YA-UA: cute decorations
* YOGURT GOGO: no decorations
* NUBI SF: no decorations, but they feature pumpkin pie fro-yo

I'm hoping to see more Halloween spirit next year.

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

October 20 Blogiversary: Meet the Fro-yo Army

Fro-yo girl here. Fro-Yo Girl Speaks turns 2 today (10/20/2010). Thank you readers and the fro-yo community for your much appreciated support. It feels like an appropriate time to introduce you to the members of my fro-yo army. These are people who adopted fro-yo nicknames and they were inspired by yours truly.

Fro-yo Boy: Meet Matt G., the first member of my fro-yo army. Because he was the first, I think he's the best known. We've met each other several times and have attended a few fro-yo store openings together. He's Joe Cool's father and Joe Cool is a good friend of Tuttimelon Bear. He once went to the same Tuttimelon store like 8 times on the same day.

Fro-yo Dude: Meet Nobu K., the second member of my fro-yo army. He doesn't eat as much fro-yo as Fro-yo Boy but he does write the funniest reviews. We've talked about finding a Fro-yo Mama but that position has yet to be filled. He first tried fro-yo at Tuttimelon!

FroyoBeast: A new member of the army, Jonathan W. has proven his loyalty and love for fro-yo. He can be recognized by his roar, Faaaaaaaawwwwrrr Yo!!! But he swears he's cuddly and friendly!

I could say something about Fro-yo Wanugee, Fro-yo Gizmo Geek and Froyoda but they haven't been eating enough fro-yo.

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

Future Yogurt Shop Picture: Yoppi SF Westfield Centre

Fro-yo girl here. Today was one of those rare days when I actually made it downtown and to Chinatown. Tuttimelon Bear and I wanted to take our visiting friends from London to Tuttimelon. We also walked around SF Westfield Centre to look for signs of fro-yo. I took a picture of the future Yoppi Yogurt store. It's in the old Cefiore space. We didn't see any visible signs of the future Pinkberry in the food court area or Tuttimelon (by the theater). I couldn't look inside Yoppi but it says Coming Soon July 2010 on the outside.


My keen fro-yo eye spotted a Yogen Fruz kiosk inside the Metreon. They have two Mix It machines there. You can't get the Top It style at that location.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 845 Market St. #277, San Francisco, CA

Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day: February 6th

Fro-yo girl here. I really don't know when National Frozen Yogurt Day is or how many there are per year. I'm celebrating National Frozen Yogurt Day on February 6th and June 4th. Though there are several websites dedicated to food holidays, I can't tell which ones are the most accurate and trustworthy. According to these types of sites, there is a National Frozen Yogurt Week and a National Frozen Yogurt Month as well.

Why can't every day be frozen yogurt day? Be sure to eat some fro-yo today. And if you're in SoCal, check out the Tuttimelon grand opening (free fro-yo from 12-2 PM) at Ontario Mills. Congrats Tuttimelon!

According to these sites, National Frozen Yogurt Day is February 6:
http://www.foodreference.com/
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/unitssubjhol/qt/feb6c.htm
http://www.mahalo.com/frozen-yogurt

This site says National Frozen Yogurt Day is June 1st:
http://www.everythingpreschool.com/holidays/h2007/jun.htm

There's evidence that National Frozen Yogurt Day is June 4th:
http://www.mail-archive.com/hot-weather-recipe@yahoogroups.com/msg00516.html

And another site says National Frozen Yogurt Day is July 1:
http://www.holidaysforeveryday.com/caljul06.shtml

We can't forget National Frozen Yogurt Week: May 24 - May 30: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/articles/view/48/1/National-Frozen-Yogurt-Week.html

These sites say that June is National Frozen Yogurt Month:
http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/national_frozen_yogurt_day.html
http://www.holidaysforeveryday.com/caljun06.shtml

Confused yet?

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* TUTTIMELON ONTARIO: Space # 117 One Mills Circle, Ontario, CA

Fro-yo Girl’s 2010 Wish List

Fro-yo girl here. A new year of fro-yo is upon us accompanied as usual with hopes and dreams for a better future. What does fro-yo girl wish for in 2010?

* More Yogurtland signature fro-yo spoons. These are the cutest spoons and I’m addicted to them now. If other places come out with super cute fro-yo spoons, I’d be even happier.
* Mobile fro-yo trucks. 2009 was the year of the mobile food trend and Washington DC has a fro-yo van but there isn’t one driving around the Bay Area yet.

I don’t have as many wishes this year because so many of my wishes came true in 2009. I think fro-yo popsicles will soon be in my hands, once Yolato finds a West Coast distributor. I already have dozens of fro-yo t-shirts, a fro-yo umbrella (thanks Tuttimelon), a fro-yo tote bag, fro-yo pins, and fro-yo candy. Fro-yo is at the airport (LAX) and it's probably too much to hope to find it and a toppings cart on the plane. Multiple people have mentioned wanting to see a fro-yo eating contest but I think that could be messy. I'll be content with watching Fro-yo Boy eating a Sumo Bowl at Tuttimelon.

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

2009: The Fro-yo Year in Review

Fro-yo girl here. Back in January 2008, I developed my wish list for 2009. Most of my wishes had come true by June 2009. Here’s a look back at what I wished for and what actually happened.

* Soy fro-yo: Not much has changed. It’s still offered by Fraiche but hasn’t caught on. WholeSoy & Co. offers pints of organic soy fro-yo at health food supermarkets but I haven’t seen it yet: http://www.wholesoyco.com/product_frozen.html and it doesn’t come in any tart flavors
* Kefir fro-yo: Culture offered it a few times but not for long. Apparently it didn’t agree with their fro-yo machines. Starfruit Café in Chicago added a second location in 2009.
* New fro-yo flavors: There was much progress in this area from all over the world. In the Bay Area, Blush introduced the first organic cookies n’ cream flavor, along with guava and pina colada. Tuttimelon launched many new flavors including passionfruit, coconut, guava, and almond. Pinkberry added passionfruit, coconut, and chocolate. Red Mango added pumpkin spice and the unique Tangomonium. Sadly, some unique flavors like Chill Café’s Red Tea are no longer available.
* Mochi at Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt: I’m very frustrated that they still don’t have mochi. It’s almost unforgivable. I know that they aren’t like other fro-yo shops but mochi is my favorite fro-yo topping.
* More homemade mochi all over: This really happened at places like Sweet Orchid in Fremont, Coco Swirl, Hello Desserts, Yogurtastic, and Fraiche. And flavored mochi became fairly common.
* Tuttimelon’s growth continues: Tuttimelon continues to be the largest fro-yo player in the Bay Area, expanding into almost every SF neighborhood, the South Bay, Peninsula, East Bay, Asia, and Canada. Most of the new locations are self-serve.
* Fro-yo at Target and Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s offers frozen tart fro-yo. Target carries Ben & Jerry’s fro-yo.
* Tart fro-yo in your local supermarket freezer section: Trader Joe’s, Dreyer’s, Haagen Daaz and Cefiore answered the call for supermarket tart fro-yo.

I’m fairly happy with 2009 because most people in the Bay Area can now get fro-yo without driving too far and fro-yo shops keep on opening. There were also unexpected surprises like my new collection of Yogurtland spoons.

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

The Pharoah's Gold Card Comes with Fro-yo Discount

Fro-yo girl here. Here's another fro-yo related (but only tangentially) gift idea, the King Tut Holiday Gift Package: http://tutsanfrancisco.org/holiday. The $119 package includes 2 VIP tickets to the King Tut exhibit at the de Young Museum, a commemorative exhibition catalog, and $25 Cafe gift card. It would be a perfect gift for parents or someone who needs that extra inducement to spend the day in SF. Also, people who buy King Tut tickets will receive a Pharaoh's Gold Card which can be used to obtain special offers and discounts from participating businesses like Peet's, Bloomingdale's, Holy Gelato, and Nordstrom. Gold Card holders receive 20% off the purchase of one item at...Tuttimelon. There's even a 10% discount for another place I love, Crown & Crumpet.

http://www.tutsanfrancisco.org/goldcard/pharaoh's-gold-card
http://www.tutsanfrancisco.org/goldcard/offers/all
http://crownandcrumpet.com/

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

Random Tuttimobile Sighting

Fro-yo girl here. I was driving around (lost actually) and I spotted a Tuttimobile parked outside of Safeway in San Jose. The address on the side was for a not yet open location in Santa Clara by the AMC Mercado 20 and Mission College. This is good news for my friend, Pearl Tea Boy (he works in the area). That part of town needed fro-yo.

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

* TUTTIMELON: 3139 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA

Happy Fro-yo Thanksgiving

Fro-yo girl here. I had planned on being grateful for the new batch (wave 2) of Tokidoki Loves Yogurtland spoons but I haven't been able to get my hands on the spoons yet (the Bay Area stores are waiting for their shipments to arrive). Sigh. Despite the frustration that I feel, I'm sure I'll have the spoons soon and I know that there are other things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for the following:

1. Some fro-yo shops are open on Thanksgiving Day (Tuttimelon was last year, so I expect they'll be open again. Yogurtland San Ramon will be open and pumpkin fro-yo will be 10% off.)

2. Pumpkin fro-yo is everywhere (along with crushed graham crackers), this year was truly the year of pumpkin fro-yo.

3. Some fro-yo shops offer pre-ordered fro-yo pies. BerryLine in Boston recently announced that anyone who pre-ordered their fro-yo pie for Thanksgiving would receive them free (wow).

4. Though they aren't the newest Yogurtland loves Tokidoki spoons, I do have many Latte and Mozzarella spoons.

5. My ever expanding collection of fro-yo t-shirts

6. The fro-yo friendships I've made and the fro-yo people that I've met (people in the fro-yo business and fans)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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