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Fro-yo girl here. Yes, today is Groundhog Day but even more importantly, it's the two year anniversary of the day Tuttimelon first opened its doors for business. In honor of that special occasion, I'd like to declare February 2nd, Tuttimelon Day. This is the perfect day to go to Tuttimelon for a cup of tuttilicious fro-yo and to thank them for bringing their fro-yo into our lives.
I wrote this tribute to the first location last year to mark the first anniversary of Tuttimelon and I'd like to share it again.
From February 2, 2008:
Fro-yo girl here. I'm probably the only person who thinks about these things and notices, but today is the one year anniversary of Tuttimelon Irving, the original and still the best location. It's hard to imagine the pre-Tuttimelon days since Tuttimelon has become a fixture in the Outer Sunset. The Irving location has been open EVERY DAY since 2/2/08.
The store doesn't appear to be celebrating the special occasion. I suggested that they bring back the 99 cents special in the future, just for the anniversary celebration.
Notable milestones (Irving location only):
* Added TuttiCard bonus card program
* Green tea fro-yo finally introduced, then mango tart and pomegranate tart
* Swirl technique perfected - I haven't encountered the dreaded hole in the middle since the early days
* New signature cups (for the longest time the cups didn't say Tuttimelon)
* Green tea powder stolen! But promptly replaced by Tuttimelon - thank you!
* Menu has changed several times, hot drinks were available for a period, the number of Yoggi drink flavors has dwindled
* Tuttimelon website quotes my Irving review
* Replaced their fro-yo machine with a newer version
* Prices have increased; as of 2/2/09, they are as follows:
- Original: S ($2.25)/ M($3.25)/ L($4.25)
- Flavored: S ($2.75)/ M($3.75)/ L($4.75)
* Security cameras installed to protect the premises
Happy birthday, Tuttimelon! As for the future, they're hoping to get a new machine soon so they can offer three fro-yo flavors at a time.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
And now the update (2/2/2010): The original Irving location became Tea Way (still owned by Tuttimelon) and they opened a larger self-serve fro-yo shop a few blocks away on Irving St. on Oct. 26, 2009. Tuttimelon hasn't slowed down. They're still innovating in so many ways. They now have 16 locations in the Bay Area, the most by far, and have expanded abroad. More locations are on the way in the Bay Area, SoCal, Asia, Canada and who knows where else. Tuttimelon could show up anywhere. And more Tea Way locations with the self-serve toppings bar are on the way.
Notable milestones (Tuttimelon in general):
* Introduced the Sumo Bowl for people who want to eat an obscene amount of fro-yo
* Lets you put toppings on gelato (fro-yo bar toppings)
* New fro-yo flavors introduced (e.g., guava, acai blueberry, pineapple, coconut, passionfruit, lychee, taro), the most notable being Almond Tart (love)
* Opened a ton of self-serve locations, converted some full-serve locations into self-serve locations
* I haven't seen my green tea powder - got lost during the move from the old Tuttimelon Irving to the new Tuttimelon Irving?
* New gift cards introduced, no longer paper cards but they're the ones with the magnetic stripe
* Website redesigned a couple of times
* Gave away a ton of free Tuttimelon t-shirts, Tuttimelon iPod speakers, Tuttimelon visors, Tuttimelon umbrellas and more logo merchandise (collector's items for sure)
* Tutti Cards now accepted at all Tuttimelon locations
* Tuttimelon Bear is born!
I'm sure I'll have much more to report on the next Tuttimelon Day. Now go forth and eat Tuttimelon fro-yo!
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
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