iCream Showroom and Pinkberry Vending Machine Update

iCream showroom

Pinkberry vending machine in Koreatown

Fro-yo girl here. The “closing” of the Pinkberry vending machine at The Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA, sparked my curiosity about the other Pinkberry vending machines. The first installation was at the Cabazon Outlets in March 2022.

Posted reviews claim that the machine no longer works:

• “Took my 20. No refund and no ice cream. Hang up after making a phone call and never answer the phone again.”
• “Scam machine, paid money and no yogurt. Website is dead and they’re not answering their phone.”
• “Scam !!!!! you pay and no yogurt”

The Beverly Center machines are marked as temporarily closed by Google.

The Ontario Airport machines are not listed on the airport website. Other vending machines are listed on the airport website.

The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks does not list the vending machine, although other vending machines are listed on the mall website.

Pacific View Mall, Ventura: The mall website does not list the vending machine

Westfield Topanga: There is no mention of the vending machine on the mall website

The iCream showroom is still there but it was closed on a weekday afternoon (it was dark inside and the door was locked). There were five vending machines inside, wrapped in tarps. The showroom was supposed to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Koreatown was the most recent installation. It was installed in July 2023. Less than a year later, it’s still at Koreatown Plaza but the machine was turned off. There was a new Sprinkles Cupcake vending machine next to the Pinkberry vending machine last July and that's no longer there either. 

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.

Pinkberry Vending Machine at the Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA, Turned Off

Fro-yo girl here. Back in April 2022, iCream installed a Pinkberry vending machine at Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA. It was in the food court area by Chick-fil-a. I passed by it many times and never saw anyone make a purchase.

The last few times I passed by, it hasn’t been on (the screen is black). At first, I thought it was being repaired, but it’s been off during multiple visits. The site has also been removed from the Pinkberry website, so it must have closed.

The price went up to $6 for a small cup. It started out as $5 for one cup and $0.25 per topping.

I’m not sure how many of the Pinkberry vending machines are still installed and turned on. The iCream website no longer works. The name of the mall changed to The Shops at Santa Anita in late 2022 when ownership changed. There is no frozen yogurt available at the mall at the moment, though you can get plant-based soft serve from Pressed and soft serve ice cream from Cha Redefine.

Now I have to investigate what happened to the other Pinkberry vending machines.

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.

2023 California Froyo Shop Openings & Closings

iCream showroom, Los Angeles 

Yogurt Stop, West Hollywood

Fro-yo girl here. I thought there would be more froyo shop openings this year, since COVID-19 isn't as much of a concern. However, there were fewer new froyo shops this year than in 2022 and 2021. Also, I think it's the first time that the number of new non-froyo shops serving froyo exceeded the number of new froyo shops, driven by the explosive growth of Nick the Greek.

In 2023, I found 41 new places that serve soft-serve froyo: 15 new froyo shops, 1 froyo truck, 19 non-froyo shops that serve froyo, and 4 froyo vending machine installations. In 2022, I found 46 new places that serve froyo: 18 new froyo shops (including two froyo trucks), 20 non-froyo shops, and 8 froyo vending machines. There were even more new froyo shops in 2021, fifteen, compared to 2023.

Six of the 2023 new froyo shop and truck openings were part of national froyo chains. Eight of twelve new froyo shop and truck openings were in Southern California, and four in Northern California.  

My goal is to track any new venue that serves froyo in soft serve form, including restaurants, convenience stores, pop-ups, froyo trucks, froyo trailers, vending machines, amusement parks, stadiums, etc. It's easier to track openings, since they're usually announced, but many places close quietly.

Businesses are listed in alphabetical order with the location.

New Froyo Shops and Trucks

• Beary Bliss, Big Bear Lake
• Frosty Peaks, Ridgecrest
• Froyology, Montebello
• The Frozone, Roseville
• Golden Spoon, Newport Beach
• LOL Yogurt, Atascadero
• Menchie’s, Burbank (moved)
• Menchie’s, Natomas, Sacramento
• Moxie's, Windsor (froyo truck)
• Pinkberry, Sacramento
• Prive La Yogurt, Roseville
• YOBA, Ontario
• The Yogurt Shoppe, Santa Monica (took over Menchie’s)
• Yogurt Bear, Santa Ana
• Yogurtland, Hastings Ranch, East Pasadena
• Yogurtland, Riverside
• Yogurtland, Palmdale (East)

Not a Froyo Shop but Serves Froyo

• IKEA, San Francisco
• Kalamaki Greek, Los Angeles (not new but added Greek froyo in November)
• Moo & Brew, Placerville
• Mrs. Chips Cookies, Sherman Oaks
• Nick the Greek, Hayward
• Nick the Greek, San Leandro
• Nick the Greek, Riverbank
• Nick the Greek, Belmont Shore, Long Beach
• Nick the Greek, San Luis Obispo
• Nick the Greek, West Hollywood
• Nick the Greek, Visalia
• Nick the Greek, San Dimas
• Nick the Greek, La Mirada
• Nick the Greek, Marina Del Rey
• Nick the Greek, Danville
• Nick the Greek, Monterey
• Pita GR, Brea
• Souvla, Larkspur
• Wafflecomb, Santa Clarita (not new but added self-serve froyo)
• Valley Swirl, Los Angeles

Froyo Vending Machines

• iCream showroom, Pinkberry, Los Angeles
• iCream, Pinkberry, Kidtopia, Fremont
• iCream, Pinkberry, San Francisco
• iCream, Pinkberry, Koreatown, Los Angeles

I didn't count rebranded froyo businesses or ones that changed ownership as new froyo businesses, but I tried to track both.

New Ownership of Froyo Shop

• Honeymoon Frozen Yogurt, Sebastopol
• Menchie’s, Pico Rivera
• Pinkberry, Marina Del Rey
• Pinkberry, Beverly Hills
• Yogurtland, Claremont

Froyo Shop Name Change

• Orange Tree, San Bruno, new name: San Froyo
• Sweetfrog, Lancaster, new name: Sweet Bunnies
• Tutti Frutti, San Carlos, new name: Toot Sweet Frozen Yogurt
• Tutti Frutti, Long Beach, new name: Frozen Oasis
• Tutti Frutti, Artesia, new name: Go-Go Froyo
• Tutti Frutti Hayward, new name: Fruity Froyo
• Tutti Frutti San Jose (Eastridge), new name: Fruity Froyo
• Yum Yum Yogurt, Kingsburg, new name: The Froyo Co.

As for froyo shop closings, I found 22 this year or nineteen if you consider the non-froyo shops that served froyo and closed. Last year, I found twenty-one froyo shop and non-froyo shop closings. Three Menchie's locations closed and eight Yogurtland locations closed in 2023. Most of the froyo shops that closed were older (over 10 years old) shops. Ace Frozen Yogurt in Arcadia was over 30 years old. Two of the froyo shops that closed were replaced by other froyo shops.

Froyo Shop Closings

• Ace Frozen Yogurt, Arcadia
• Chill, Studio City
• Dolci Mango, Chula Vista
• Joghurt, Chino
• Joy Sedona, Lake Balboa
• Loving Cup, Russian Hill, San Francisco
• Menchie’s, Ocean Park, Santa Monica (now The Yogurt Shoppe)
• Menchie’s, Montana Ave, Santa Monica
• Menchie’s, Newport Beach (now Golden Spoon)
• Spoonful Yogurt Café, Riverside
• Sweetfrog, Palmdale
• Yogurtland, Brentwood, Los Angeles
• Yogurtland, Hollywood, Los Angeles
• Yogurtland, Pinole
• Yogurtland, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles
• Yogurtland, Ladera Heights, Los Angeles
• Yogurtland, Northwood, Irvine
• Yogurtland, Oceanside
• Yogurtland, Costa Mesa, 17th St.
• Yogurt Shack, Concord
• Yogurt Stop, West Hollywood
• Yummy Spoon Yogurt, Chula Vista

Closings, Not a Froyo Shop 

• Health Habit, Valley Springs
• Mrs. Chips Cookies, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles
• Sweet Retreat, Morgan Hill

Not Closed, No Longer Serving Froyo

• The Kona Ice Shop, Winters

More froyo is on the way. I found 28 places listed as opening soon, with Nick the Greek accounting for 23 of these future locations.

Future Places Serving Froyo

• Easy Breezy, Walnut Creek
• Cuppa Yo, Dublin
• Menchie’s, Cameron Park
• Menchie's, Clovis
• Nick the Greek, Berkeley
• Nick the Greek, Hollister
• Nick the Greek, Tracy
• Nick the Greek, Oakland
• Nick the Greek, Sonoma
• Nick the Greek, Stockton
• Nick the Greek, Palo Alto
• Nick the Greek, Folsom
• Nick the Greek, Mountain View
• Nick the Greek, Marin
• Nick the Greek, Salinas
• Nick the Greek, Natomas
• Nick the Greek, Sacramento
• Nick the Greek, San Francisco, 4 locations
• Nick the Greek, Santa Barbara
• Nick the Greek, Pinole
• Nick the Greek, Mill Valley
• Nick the Greek, Petaluma
• Nick the Greek, Natomas
• Nick the Greek, Stockton
• Pinkberry, Natomas
• Pinkberry, Manteca
• Pinkberry, John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana
• Pinkberry, Fremont
• Yoga-urt, Granada Hills, Los Angeles

I’ll keep updating this post if I find out about other 2023 froyo shop openings and closings. Did I miss any openings or closings? Let me know.

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.

Pinkberry Vending Machines Added to Additional Malls in Southern California

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry vending machines powered by iCream have now been installed in five shopping malls in Southern California: Beverly Center (Los Angeles), Cabazon Outlets (Cabazon), Westfield Santa Anita (Arcadia), Westfield Topanga (Canoga Park) and The Oaks (Thousand Oaks).

I spotted the Pinkberry vending machine at Westfield Topanga by the food court. Like the other Pinkberry vending machine, there’s one size (small), one flavor (original tart), and toppings. It starts at $5 for a small yogurt with no toppings. 

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 Chicago Report: In the Neighborhoods & O'Hare

Fro-yo girl here. My last Chicago fro-yo report covered the downtown area. This one focuses on the neighborhoods of Chicago. I heard about the car driving into Forever Yogurt. FY sorry to hear about that. On the positive side of things, they're supposed to open 3 additional shops this month with 12 locations planned for 2011.

I've had good yogurt gelato and yogurt ice cream (if that makes any sense) but I still haven't had good custom fro-yo. I'm talking about places like iCream where they make the ice cream or frozen yogurt after you order it...using liquid nitrogen. iCream's frozen yogurt ranks among the worst I've ever had. The texture was lumpy and sticky and the taste was like a bad pear syrup. Horrific.


Things are looking up food-wise at O'Hare, thanks to the Red Mango kiosk. They're at Midway Airport as well.

In Evanston, Northwestern students can choose between Red Mango, 38 Degrees, and a couple of non-fro-yo only shops. Having tried 38 Degrees, I would choose the creamier and better tasting Red Mango shop.

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

* iCREAM: 1537 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL
* 38 DEGREES: 940 Church St., Evanston, IL
* RED MANGO: 809 Davis St., Evanston, IL
* RED MANGO: 1000 W. O'Hare Airport Terminal B5, Chicago, IL