Froyo Guide to San Ramon, CA

Yogurtland San Ramon, 2009 - old logo, pink & green mochi

One of my cups of froyo from Yogurtland San Ramon

Fro-yo girl here. San Ramon, located in Contra Costa County, is home to about 79,000. It’s one of the safest places to live in California. I used to work there and was at the Yogurtland grand opening on July 24, 2009. Top This! was the first froyo shop in the area (though older shops may have existed) that I knew about though there was a TCBY that predated Top This!

Today, there’s just one froyo shop left, Menchie’s. Menchie’s first opened at 3104 Crow Canyon Pl, Suite B, in 2016.

Former Froyo Shops in San Ramon

• Frozen Café, 2475 San Ramon Valley Blvd, Ste 4, opened in 2014 and closed in 2020. It seems like the pandemic is what led to the closure. They served one froyo flavor, vanilla, and Dole Whip. They also had crepes, smoothies, ice cream, milkshakes, and floats.
• Pinkberry, 3104 Crow Canyon Pl, Ste 2, took over my regular lunch spot, a hot dog shop called The Dog Out. This branch opened in 2010 and closed in 2015.
• TCBY, 2475 San Ramon Valley Blvd, closed November 2008. I’m not sure when it first opened.
• Top This! Yogurt Bar, 11020 Bollinger Canyon Rd, was the first self-serve froyo shop in San Ramon. I went once in 2009 and thought it was pretty awful.
• Tutti Frutti, 2475 San Ramon Valley Blvd, opened in the same shopping center as Safeway in 2010. It was a smaller location with a self-serve format. The shop closed in 2012 and Frozen Café took over the space in 2014.
• Yogurtland, 152 Sunset Dr., opened in July 2009 at the Shops at Bishop Ranch and closed in 2020. It was a great location. I visited many times and only have positive memories. It's where I honed my froyo swirling skills. Yogurtland San Ramon wasn’t the first Yogurtland that I’d been to (Yogurtland Cupertino was my first) but it was my regular Yogurtland, the one where I got my first Yogurtland Tokidoki & Sanrio spoons. It was only $0.30/oz when they first opened.

San Ramon mostly had national froyo franchises but there were a few independents.

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.

Painful Froyo Shop Closures of 2020

Fro-yo girl here. I’m usually sad when I hear about a froyo shop closing, but some closures hurt much more than others. I’ve already written about the closure of three of the shops on this list. These are the most painful froyo shop closures of 2020 (in alphabetical order). I've visited all the places on this list.

Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, 4640 Tassajara Rd, Dublin, CA 94568

I have so many fond memories of going to Blush after work, chatting with the owner, Jonathan, and driving home with a cooler full of froyo. His swirling skills were legendary and he was so passionate about developing the best froyo flavors. He was so dedicated and the froyo was something special. My favorite flavors were Green Tea Tart, Original, Blush, and Pumpkin Tart. I also loved Pineapple Tart, Acai Blueberry Tart, Gingerbread, Mango Tart…the list goes on. Blush Dublin first opened in 2008. It closed in May 2020.

Zoeyogurt, 6900 East Green Lake Way N E, Seattle, WA 98115

The original Zoeyogurt, in Green Lake, closed after nine years in Green Lake (Seattle, WA). I visited once and really liked the cozy atmosphere, cleanliness and froyo texture. The owner, Donna, was an earlier supporter of the International Frozen Yogurt Association and all three Zoeyogurt shops were IFYA Swirl of Honor shops.

Woody’s Yogurt Place, 802 Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA 94941

A local institution, Woody’s Yogurt Place was owned by the same family, the Woodsons, since 1998. Another Swirl of Honor shop, Woody’s won numerous “best of” froyo and ice cream awards over the years. Woody’s donated gift certificates to every nearby school for their auctions and fundraisers, hosted free ice cream socials for local schools, and more. Woody’s Yogurt Place closed in January due to the rising cost of rent at Strawberry Village.

Yogurtland Fullerton, 501 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831

Yogurtland #1, the original location, closed in October, a victim of the economic effects of COVID-19. The shop was located near Cal State Fullerton and with students staying at home, business must have been slow. The shop first opened in February 2006 and shared a space with Phillip Chang’s other business, Boba Loca, a bubble tea shop. They offered 16 self-serve, non-fat fro-yo flavors a day and toppings for 30 cents. This was the format that early Yogurtland locations continued to offer during the early years.

 

Yogurtland, 152 Sunset Dr., San Ramon, CA 94583

Sure there are plenty of Yogurtland locations, especially in California, but only a few were my regular spots. Yogurtland San Ramon opened in 2009, back when I used to work in San Ramon. I remember when it first opened. I went there many times, often for lunch with my good friend, S (our regular spots were Yogurtland and Top Dog). I collected many froyo spoons from that location, including the Tokidoki Yogurtland spoons. The pandemic led to the closure. 

Yogurtland, 4960 Telephone Rd, Ste 104, Ventura, CA 93003

This was my regular spot whenever I was in Ventura visiting family. Open from 2013-2020, it was the best option in town. The shop was in the shopping plaza with Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s, and Starbucks.

Farewell, old friends. You are missed.

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.

Yogurtland Sanrio Items For Sale

Fro-yo girl here. Here's a look at the Yogurtland Sanrio items that you can buy. I found mine at Yogurtland San Ramon.

* Grey t-shirt with Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody & Keroppi in Yogurtland cups, $19.99
* Rubber keychains with Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody & Keroppi in Yogurtland cups, $3.50 each
* Hello Kitty in Yogurtland uniform plush doll, $13.50
* Mini character plush dolls with hooks (for backpacks?) of the same four characters, $7.99 each

I think I'm missing the Chococat mini character plush doll but I'll keep looking for it.

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

Yogurtland San Ramon Grand Opening Celebration

Fro-yo girl here. While Yogurtland San Ramon opened a few weeks ago, the grand opening event took place today (and continues tomorrow, July 25 – free Yogurtland t-shirts for the first 250 people). We stood in line with mainly teenagers and pre-teens (this was at 11 AM). The white t-shirts have a swirly design. Kids received balloons in Yogurtland’s signature colors (green and pink).



I noticed a large delivery of Yogurtland fro-yo at 9:30 AM today, so they had plenty on hand for the large fro-yo hungry crowd. They ran out of t-shirts around 11:30 AM.

Tip: If you want to get a t-shirt, do show up before 11 AM (the time they open). Kid’s sizes are available.

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

* YOGURTLAND: 152 Sunset Dr., San Ramon, CA