More Froyo Shop Closures: Pinkberry Santana Row, Yoppi Yogurt (California St.) San Francisco, Cuppa San Francisco

Fro-yo girl here. We’re a few days away from winter, when most of the froyo news is not positive. Thanks to Tracy T., I learned about the December closure of Pinkberry Santana Row and the closure of Yoppi Yogurt on California St. in San Francisco, CA. I also found out that Cuppa (formerly Rockit Swirl) in Glen Park, San Francisco, CA closed this month.

Pinkberry Santana Row (368 Santana Row, Suite 1020, San Jose, CA 95128) turned 10 this month and promptly closed. They signed a 10-year lease and the lease was up. Santana Row refused to extend the lease. I remember attending the grand opening event in January 22, 2009, with Yelp friend, Ann L. They set up a tent outside and had a VIP list. I’m sure that I still have the t-shirt they gave me that night.

Yoppi Yogurt at 101 California St. in San Francisco, CA was one of several Yoppi locations that opened in the FiDi area in 2010. I thought Yoppi had cute signs but was never a fan of their frozen yogurt. I remember going to the California St. location with Genevieve Y. in 2010. The froyo was very icy at that time. I don’t think I ever went back. At that time, I was a regular at Tuttimelon and I would have gone to YoCup more often if it were convenient.

Cuppa (2810 Diamond St., San Francisco, CA) opened in March 2017. Before it was Cuppa, there was a froyo shop called Rockit Swirl in the same location and before RockitSwirl, it was Eggettes. Eggettes first introduced frozen yogurt at the Glen Park location in 2009. Cuppa served “bubble tea, froyo, smoothies, snacks and more.” When I visited, it didn’t seem that different from Rockit Swirl, though they refreshed the interior.

In a few years, most of the new boba places are going to close.

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.

Looking for New 16 Handles Spoons and Other Froyo Spoons

Fro-yo girl here. 16 Handles recently introduced two new froyo spoon designs, a heart topped spoon and a froyo cup topped spoon in two colors, pink and green. I’m looking to trade some of my current froyo spoons or purchase the four 16 Handles summer spoons. 

I am also looking for the following froyo spoons:

• Joji space girl spoon from Florida
• Land of Plenty spoons from Germany
• Moyo spoons from Mexico (the top of the spoon looks like a snow monster/yeti) 
• Qoola bear spoons
• Sour Sally green hand spoon
• Yogen Fruz spoons with cut out smile/U shape
• Yoppi Hello Kitty spoons from Taiwan

If you think you have some nice froyo spoons that I haven’t mentioned but might be interested in, let me know. I have almost every Yogurtland and Menchie’s collectible spoon.

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.

Glendale, CA Froyo Roundup

Fro-yo girl here. I recently completed my tour of the Glendale, CA’s froyo shops and found 5 shops that carry froyo, or 6 if you count Pressed Juicery, which offers dairy-free soft serve (technically not froyo). All but one of these shops is located at either the Glendale Galleria or the Americana Mall (the Americana is right next to the Galleria). It seems like life in Glendale centers around that shopping mall area. Go there any day of the week and it’s swarming with people.

The best froyo in Glendale can be found at Pinkberry Americana. This is a particularly nice, spacious Pinkberry location that often has test flavors and test products. They serve six froyo flavors a day and you can’t go wrong with their classic Original Tart with fresh fruit. Some of the limited edition flavors that I’ve liked recently include Lemon Lime and Raspberry White Chocolate. They also have the best froyo toppings.

Yoppi Frozen Yogurt at the Glendale Galleria has average froyo. It features 6 self-serve froyo flavors a day and a decent selection of toppings (fresh fruit, cheesecake, mochi, syrups, cereal, cookie dough, brownies, chocolate chips, cookies, nuts, sprinkles) for 45 cents an ounce. They also have gelato.

My Yummy Yogurt, which is near Eagle Rock, is below average but it does offer free wi-fi (though it’s not a place that one feels like hanging out at).

The froyo is self-serve with 8 flavors a day and a small toppings bar with cereal, candy, sprinkles, nuts, syrups, chocolate chips, brownies, mochi, chocolate covered things, coconut, and two types of fresh fruit for 39 cents an ounce. The fruit was stored in the back and it’s brought out when there are customers. The frozen yogurt is icy and bland.

Froyo is an afterthought at the two Haagen Dazs locations. The kiosk at the Americana only had one flavor, vanilla. The one inside the Glendale Galleria carries two flavors.

Pressed Juicery offers a tasty, vegan, healthier soft serve option that isn’t frozen yogurt. Called Freeze, it’s made with just a few ingredients and is 100% fruit, vegetables and nuts. Freeze flavors include Greens, Roots, Citrus, Fruits, Chocolate and Vanilla. You can top your Freeze with healthy, quality toppings: fresh fruit, spices, seeds, granola, nuts, almond butter, honey, rose syrup, peanut butter, Hawaiian pink salt, cacao nut freezing drizzle, and goji berries. Ask for samples (it’s not self serve).

Try the vanilla flavor (almonds, dates, sea salt, vanilla). It’s icy and not very smooth but very clean and fresh tasting.

Ice N’Cream at the Glendale Galleria used to carry froyo but they switched to soft serve ice cream. Godiva has Belgian soft serve ice cream in two flavors, chocolate and vanilla. I tried it - wasn't too impressed.

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

• HAAGEN DAZS: 889 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210
• HAAGEN DAZS: 1113 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91210
• MY YUMMY YOGURT: 1321 Colorado St., Ste A, Glendale, CA 91205
• PINKBERRY: 759 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210
• PRESSED JUICERY: 889 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210
• YOPPI YOGURT: 3211 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91205

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.

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Yoppi Stonestown Galleria

Fro-yo girl here. The sign is up...Yoppi Yogurt is coming to SF’s Stonestown Galleria. The new location is by the main entrance of the mall, on the ground floor. It’s between Marbles and L’Occitane. The space used to be occupied by a florist. Yoppi is expected to open in about two months.

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Yoppi Yogurt Oakland

Fro-yo girl here. Here’s a picture of the future home of Yoppi Yogurt at the City Center in downtown Oakland. It’s next to Radio Shack with no visible Yoppi signage. However, Yoppi is listed in the center’s directory. I walked by the old SoGreen Yogurt Oakland space in the same complex. It’s still vacant and available for lease.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 500 12th Street, Suite C125, Oakland, CA

Yoppi Yogurt SF Grand Opening on 2/4

Fro-yo girl here. Yoppi Yogurt is now open at 2125 Polk St. Their grand opening celebration will be on Saturday, Feb. 4. Stop in for free fro-yo from 12 - 2 PM. They’ll also be giving away free Yoppi Yogurt t-shirts and other prizes. Free fro-yo!

The Polk St. location has 8 fro-yo flavors a day and it's self-serve.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 2125 Polk St., San Francisco, CA

Fro-yo Hot Spots in 2011

Fro-yo girl here. The fro-yo bubble has burst in the Bay Area and the number of new fro-yo shop openings has declined significantly. I once chose fro-yo hot spots based on (1) innovation, (2) quantity of new fro-yo shops and (3) fro-yo quality. This year, hot spots are based more on quantity of new fro-yo shops. Last January 2011, I selected Walnut Creek and Oakland as fro-yo hot spots.

This top fro-yo hot spot of 2011 is:

* SAN JOSE: San Jose led the way with the most fro-yo shop openings, including chains (3 new Yogurtland locations, new Tutti Frutti locations, 1 new Nubi location) and independent fro-yo shops, Gaga, Yogurt Cove and others.

Runner up hot spot of 2011:

* SAN FRANCISCO: SF didn’t have as many fro-yo shop openings as San Jose, but it did have the most innovative new fro-yo shop of 2011. The Italian fro-yo chain, Yogorino opened two locations in SF. Yoppi is still expanding its presence in SF.

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

Yoppi Yogurt Redwood City Grand Opening

Fro-yo girl here. I had a cup of free fro-yo (French vanilla & pumpkin pie fro-yo with Frankenberry cereal) at the grand opening celebration of Yoppi Redwood City today. From 12 - 2 PM, you could walk in grab a cup and have as much fro-yo and toppings as you wanted. They also had a sign-up sheet to win t-shirts and gift cards and coupons for 15% off a future purchase. They had the Yoppi t-shirts there and they came in several colors - yellow, olive, pink, blue.








I liked the store's Halloween decorations and Halloween inspired toppings: candy corn and FRANKENBERRY!!!

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 851 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA

Yoppi Redwood City Grand Opening, 10/15

Fro-yo girl here. Yoppi Yogurt is celebrating the opening of their Redwood City location tomorrow. The shop has already opened. Saturday’s festivities include raffles for t-shirts and gift cards, free fro-yo & toppings from 12 - 2 PM.

Oktoberfest will also be tomorrow from 10 AM - 8 PM in Redwood City’s Courthouse Square. Free admission.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 851 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Yoppi Redwood City

Fro-yo girl here. The Yoppi Yogurt chain continues to expand. They're taking over the old Marble Slab Creamery near the movie theater in downtown RWC. I once had really terrible fro-yo at that Marble Slab location.

I know other fro-yo shops considered locating in downtown RWC and didn't think there was enough foot traffic. The Beard Papa closed. Downtown RWC is very quiet on weekdays during the day.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 851 Middlefield Rd., Redwood City, CA

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Yoppi Yogurt Belmont

Fro-yo girl here. Yoppi Yogurt, which just opened in Palo Alto, this week, has a few more new locations in the works, including Belmont's Carlmont Village Shopping Center. It's a large space (formerly occupied by Jamba Juice). The windows were papered over so I couldn't see anything inside but the sign says fro-yo and gelato.

They're looking for fro-yo associates...send resume and cover letter to belmont@yoppiyogurt.com if interested.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 1005 1/2 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Belmont, CA

Cutest Fro-yo Cups, My Top 3 Picks

Fro-yo girl here. Something about eating fro-yo out of a cute cup with an adorable spoon just makes it taste better. Having a nice looking swirl and neatly applied toppings also increase the appeal of a cup of fro-yo.

When it comes to cute fro-yo cups, the top honors go to Menchie's...followed by Yoppi Yogurt in the Bay Area. Third place goes to Eggettes/Rock It Swirl because they put the Eggettes character on the cup. The cutest fro-yo cups ever were the Tokidoki loves Yogurtland ones. As you can see, having cute characters on the cup seems to be the key to a cup that appeals to me.



Are there other cute fro-yo cups out there that you know about? I would love to see them. Send me your pics.

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

Streets of Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Once a year I talk about fro-yo hot spots, cities where the most fro-yo activity is occurring. Today I wanted to recognize specific streets in San Francisco. Which SF street has the most fro-yo shops?

Right now it's Fillmore St., so let's take a look at the fro-yo shops on Fillmore.

* JUBILI - 1515 Fillmore St. Now that Yogurt Bar has closed, Jubili is the oldest tart fro-yo shop in SF. The fro-yo hasn't changed much recently (same flavors) but they added cupcakes and cookies (a line called Velveteen Sweets). I wonder why they stopped coming out with new fro-yo flavors?
* FRAICHE - 1910 Fillmore St. Fraiche's organic fro-yo is really great right now and their homemade mochi cubes are the best. I like how the mochi is bigger and fresher than the mochi at other fro-yo shops. Their newish pumpkin flavor is amazing and I like those yogurt muffins too.
* YOPPI YOGURT - 2208 Fillmore St. They opened up recently and brought self-serve fro-yo to this street. It's a cute shop (like those Yoppi characters) though on the small side for a fro-yo shop.
* ROYAL GROUND COFFEE - 2060 Fillmore St. Okay, it's not a fro-yo shop but they do have one machine. I would avoid it. Fro-yo feels like an afterthought here.

Quickly on Fillmore had a frozen yogurt sign but when I went inside, they didn't have fro-yo.

Union Street and Irving Street are also good streets for fro-yo.

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Yoppi Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. A cute new sign went up in the window of the old olive oil shop (Olivier & Co.) - Yoppi Yogurt is coming soon. The sign depicts a winter scene with snowflakes - will they open this winter? It will be the fourth fro-yo serving place on Fillmore, joining Fraiche, Royal Ground Coffee, and Jubili (they're all within walking distance of each other). Moyo's Yogurt is also close by but not on Fillmore St.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 2208 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Yoppi Westfield SF

Fro-yo girl here. This is a not very newsworthy update of Yoppi Yogurt in Westfield. I stopped by yesterday to see if anything had changed. There are no signs that indicate when it will open (it used to say July 2010) and I wasn't able to peek inside. The outside is cute though (with the little Yoppi characters). If anyone has any info, let me know.

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

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

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

Yoppi Montgomery About to Open?

Fro-yo girl here. I've got new Yoppi Yogurt pictures to share. The glass storefront is still papered over but I peeked in and saw three fro-yo machines (they were easily accessible, so this will be another self-serve location). The fro-yo machines were on. I didn't see tables or construction materials but since the machines are on, they must be close to opening.

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 100 Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA

Custom Printed Fro-yo Cups

Fro-yo girl here. Fro-yo somehow tastes better when eaten out of a cute, branded cup and eaten with a nice spoon. The plain white cups are so boring. Printed logo cups are an easy, affordable way to build a shop’s brand and help the shop stand out from other fro-yo shops. Stickers are an option but they don’t look as nice especially if the sticker is crooked.


The two main suppliers of fro-yo cups (double poly paper hot/cold food containers) are Karat (www.lollicupstore.com) and CarryOutSupplies (www.carryoutsupplies.com). I’ve examined the Tuttimelon cup (manufactured and printed by Karat) and the cups for Icebee (APO brand, manufactured and printed by CarryOutSupplies). The Tuttimelon cup and Icebee cup have a similar weight and feel. I can’t spot any quality differences. The Yoppi cup Karat and APO cups are priced the same online.


CarryOutSupplies is willing to negotiate on prices and terms. Unlike other companies, they offer free storage so you don’t have to fill your garage with fro-yo cups. Shipping is free on all orders. Free custom printing is offered as well. They can provide custom molds.

I’ve eaten out of the APO cups many times (they supply Menchie’s, Yoppi Yogurt, Yogurt Passion, etc.). These are nice cups.

Special offer: Call Kirby at CarryOutSupplies at 626-262-6819 and tell them fro-yo girl sent you. You’ll receive a free case of colored spoons with your cup purchase. Contact Kirby for details.

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

Yoppi & So Frais Grand Opening Events on Saturday, July 11

Fro-yo girl here. Both So Frais and Yoppi Yogurt have already opened their doors but their grand opening events are this Saturday.

Yoppi Yogurt has taken over the old Julie Gelato’s space. They offer Italian gelato and 6 flavors of self-serve fro-yo a day (45 cents an ounce). Don’t miss the flavored mochi balls. I’m told that there will be free fro-yo from 2 – 4 PM on Saturday. I didn’t see any flyers, postcards or posters about the event at the shop and they were having problems with the point of sales system, so you may want to call before you head over there (925-279-2209).

So Frais is a new self-serve fro-yo shop in Fremont that also offers cupcakes. The celebration starts at 1 PM though the shop opens at 11 AM. Choose from 8 flavors of fro-yo. Buy one, get one free during the grand opening (1 PM – closing).

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

* YOPPI YOGURT: 1815G Ygnacio Valley Rd, Walnut Creek, CA
* SO FRAIS FROZEN YOGURT CAFÉ: 5363 Mowry, Fremont, CA

More Fro-Yo Shop Grand Openings: Cefiore, Yoppi in SF

Yoppi Yogurt is open now but the grand opening celebration is on Wednesday (November 19th) at noon. The first 150 customers who make a purchase will receive a free reusable bag. It’s a self-serve shop with four flavors of fro-yo priced at 45 cents an ounce (the most expensive in the Bay Area).

Cefiore is also open on New Montgomery Street. Drop by the shop to get a coupon for the grand opening celebration on Thursday, November 20 from 12 - 7 PM. You need the physical coupon to get a free mini fro-yo (toppings not included). The coupon is good only at the Montgomery St. location.

* YOPPI YOGURT: 475 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA
* CEFIORE: 59 New Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA