Los Angeles Froyo Shops That I’m Avoiding

 

Go Greek, Studio City

Fro-yo girl here. Now that I’ve told you about my favorite froyo chain locations in Los Angeles, it seems right to also warn you about some locations that I’m avoiding. I hate to be critical of froyo shops, but the feedback could also be helpful.

Go Greek, 12930 Ventura Blvd # 114, Studio City, CA 91604

The froyo is good but this location does not have the same rewards program as the Santa Monica and Beverly Hills locations. I’ve also tried to sign up for rewards twice, unsuccessfully.

Menchie’s, 10619 Valley Blvd Unit D, El Monte, CA 91731

The scanner has been broken for over a year at this location. I found out the hard way when I was participating in the Menchie’s app game challenge. Since they did not have a working scanner, I could not get credit for my visit there.

Pinkberry, 612 S Myrtle Ave, Monrovia, CA 91016

The main reason that I no longer frequent Pinkberry in Monrovia is that they chose not to participate in the Pinkcard program. Who does that? I’ve also had icy froyo there but that could have been a temporary issue. Also, the Bible materials that they have there bother me.

Pinkberry, 120 E Palm Ave, Burbank, CA 91502

Sadly, so many of the soft serve machines are out of order. During one visit, they only had two flavors available. Also, it’s self-serve but you still can’t get your own toppings.

Yogurtland, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd #1260, Los Angeles, CA 90067

At $1.35/oz, the Yogurtland at Westfield Century City is too expensive. It also doesn’t have as many flavors as the typical Yogurtland location.

Yogurtland, 1321 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA 90401

The Santa Monica Yogurtland is also crazy expensive.

I’m hoping things change for the better.

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.

Partial Self-Serve Returns, Indoor Mall Locations Reopen, Other Shops May Not Reopen?

Menchie's, Ocean Park, Santa Monica

Fro-yo girl here. On April 5, Los Angeles moved to the orange tier for COVID-19 restrictions. Under the orange tier, restaurants can offer 50% capacity for indoor dining. What does that mean for LA’s froyo shops? I’ve seen a few froyo shops in Los Angeles that were full service begin to offer partial self-serve again but technically, self-serve froyo is still not allowed in California. 

At most froyo places that I've been to that allow self-serve, gloves are provided. You can serve your own froyo but an employee adds the toppings. I was able to serve my own froyo and toppings at a few shops even during the height of the pandemic but most froyo shops adhered to the public health department's guidelines of not offering any self-serve. 

With so many froyo shops now offering partial self-serve, I thought it was allowed but it actually isn't yet. I have been cautious throughout the pandemic, but I would feel comfortable with self-serve froyo if customers and employees wore masks and gloves and hand sanitizer were provided. It doesn't feel fair that customers can dine indoors but they still can't serve their own froyo while wearing masks.

I haven’t seen a froyo shop that allows for indoor dining yet. But I got used to eating froyo in my car. You can eat inside a mall again, so froyo shops in indoor malls like Yogurtland Montebello and Yogurtland Century City have reopened. Yogurtand Cerritos is still “temporarily closed.” Will it ever reopen? Menchie’s on Ocean Park in Santa Monica looks like it just closed but it hasn’t been open for months. All the equipment is still inside and the signs are still up.

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.

And a Batch of Yogurtland Closures in California

Yogurtland Media Center, Burbank, CA

Fro-yo girl here. KSBY reported earlier this month that Yogurtland San Luis Obispo closed permanently, vacating 956 Higuera St. location. The shop was five years old. Sadly, I never made it there though I remember hearing about the opening.

I just found out that Yogurtland Ventura at 4960 Telephone Rd, Ste 104, also closed in 2020. The shop opened in 2013 and closed in September 2020. It was owned by the same person who owned Yogurtland Camarillo and Yogurtland Oxnard. The Oxnard location is the only one that remains open. It was a decent location – not the best, the flavors tended to be boring, but it was dependable back in 2018. From the Yelp reviews, it seems like it went downhill before closing for good.

Yogurtland’s website listed Yogurtland Burbank Media Center as temporarily closed on March 12, but I dropped by and the shop was open. They’re open Thursday - Sunday currently. Whew. I was worried.

Yogurtland also lists the following locations as temporarily closed in the LA area:

• Montebello (it’s inside the mall)
• Century City (while it’s at the mall, it is an outdoor mall)
• Cerritos Mall (it’s in an indoor mall)

Hope to see all these locations reopen soon, since Los Angeles has moved from the purple, most restrictive tier, to the red tier.

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.

Westfield Century City Froyo & Frozen Desserts Report 2018

Fro-yo girl here. Westfield unveiled the “new” Westfield Century City shopping center last September. The two-year $1 billion makeover “reconfigured the mall and expanded it by about a third to 1.3 million square feet. About 90% of the stores, including Nordstrom, are new.” 

I used to shop at the Century City mall regularly and when I stepped off the escalator, I could not recognize the old mall. The layout is so different now and most of the stores are different. Bloomindale’s is still there in the same place but everything else seemed different. I remember parking for free for 3 hours. Now you only get one hour of free parking but some stores validate.

I recently visited Westfield Century City. I was curious about the Yogurtland location there, which closed in January for remodeling and reopened in April of this year with a new look. I haven’t seen that look at any other Yogurtland location.

I noticed quite a few unoccupied or maybe I should say not yet open shops on the second floor. The ground floor is almost fully occupied and open for business. The new Westfield Century City has many places to get frozen treats. Here’s a breakdown of the current frozen treat vendors.

Froyo 

Forty Carrots (inside Bloomingdale’s): Their famous frozen yogurt! It’s $6 for a regular, $8 for a large or $4 for a small if purchased with a meal from their café. They have 6 flavors a day. I recommend the plain or peanut butter. You can also get frozen yogurt smoothies. Take your receipt to the first floor to get your parking validated. You get an hour of free parking with validation (on top of the first hour free which everyone gets).

Yogurtland: It’s an attractive looking spot with geometric white and green tiles, grey wall where the froyo machines are, and white toppings bars. The price doubled – it’s now 85 cents an ounce which seems crazy when there are other Yogurtland locations nearby that still charge over 30 cents less per ounce. This is a smaller location, with just 10 self-serve flavors a day. Look for offers on Instagram, @yogurtlandcc. Currently if you check in on Yelp, you get 5 oz free. 

SunLife Organics (?): I didn’t see this shop while I was there, but if it’s like their other locations, they’ll have organic chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt. From the pictures I saw of this location, it doesn’t seem like they have frozen yogurt. 

Yogen Fruz (?): The Yogen Fruz website lists a location inside the AMC theater at Century City. I forgot to verify whether this location was still open. 

Ice Cream

Halo Top Scoop Shop: This is Halo Top’s second scoop shop. They have soft serve but it’s ice cream. I haven’t tried it yet but I am curious about their bubble waffles, more so than their Stevia sweetened low calorie ice cream. 

Rori’s Artisanal Creamery: Scoopable ice cream, no frozen yogurt

Smitten Ice Cream: Fresh ice cream is made in front of your eyes with liquid nitrogen. I’ve had it in San Francisco where Smitten is from. It’s good stuff and their housemade toppings are excellent as well.

Gelato 

Bacio di Latte: The reviews are very favorable and they have yogurt gelato occasionally. This chain was founded by two brothers in Milan.

Grom: This Italian gelato shop got its start in Italy. They emphasize fresh, high quality ingredients. They do have a yogurt gelato that’s rich and flavorful. I don’t think that flavor is always offered but it’s worth trying if you see it.

Il Gelato (inside Eataly): I didn’t see any yogurt flavor but maybe they have one from time to time?

Dairy-Free Soft Serve 

Pressed Juicery: Yes, this location does have Pressed Freeze, the vegan, plant-based frozen treat from Pressed. Freeze is made with just a few ingredients and no added sugar. It’s 100% fruit, vegetables, and nuts.

This list doesn’t even include the other eateries that serve dessert and the frozen desserts you can buy at Gelson's. Oh, if you want frozen yogurt in Century City, the only place to get some is at Westfield Century City. If you have a car, drive over to Beverly Hills or Westwood Village for more options.

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

* WESTFIELD CENTURY CITY: 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles (Century City), CA 90067

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.