Fro-yo girl here. The city of Riverside in Riverside County, CA, has a population of 320,764 (2022) and is about 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The first froyo shop in Riverside was probably a TCBY or Golden Spoon, but I’m not sure which. Golden Spoon survived until 2022. The first self-serve froyo shop was Swirl which opened in March 2008 and was later renamed Mumbles. BerrySweet was also an early self-serve froyo shop; it opened in April 2008. Reviewers claimed that Yogurtland put both out of business by opening nearby and charging less per ounce.
Today, there are six froyo shops in Riverside and they’re all self-serve. Yogurtland has three shops, including one in the old Golden Spoon space. The most popular spots for froyo are by UC Riverside or at the Mall, Galleria at Tyler.
Current Froyo Shops
- Cherry On Top, 3560 Riverside Plz Dr Ste 406, opened in 2009
- Cherry On Top, 19009 Van Buren Blvd Ste 125, opened in 2010
- Prinkipia, 1170 Galleria At Tyler, self-serve froyo at the mall, not sure when it opened, 2015
- Yogurtland, 3510 Tyler St # 104 opened in 2016
- Yogurtland, 1242 University Ave A, opened in 2010 near the UC Riverside campus
- Yogurtland, 19348 Van Buren Blvd, took over the Golden Spoon space and opened in 2023.
Closed Froyo Shops
- BerrySweet, 3740 Iowa Ave Ste 108, was a self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2008 and closed in 2011.
- Chillz Frozen Yogurt, Mission Grove Plaza, 231 E Alessandro, Ste F, was a self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2017 and closed in 2019.
- CJ’s Frozen Yogurt, 10333 Magnolia Ave, was a froyo shop. I couldn’t find any reviews, so I assume that it was open a long time ago.
- Golden Spoon, 19348 Van Buren Boulevard, was a counter-serve froyo shop that closed in 2022. A new owner took over in 2018 and then again in 2021. I’m not sure when it first opened but it had an older GS spoon look before being remodeled, and the first reviewer in 2009 said that she had been going there for years.
- Golden Spoon, 1310 Galleria at Tyler, had a shop at the Galleria at Tyler. I couldn’t find any reviews, so it probably closed a long time ago.
- Golden Swirl, 4250 Van Buren Blvd. I couldn’t find any reviews, so it probably closed a long time ago. It was counter-serve and similar to Golden Spoon.
- Mickey’s Yogurt, 5225 Canyon Crest Dr STE 90, took over the SweetFrog space at Canyon Crest Towne Centre. The self-serve shop opened in 2020 and closed in February 2022. It is now the home of Break the Ice, a taiyaki ice cream shop.
- Spoonful Yogurt Café, 4270 Riverwalk Pkwy STE 120, was a self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2014 and closed in 2023.
- SweetFrog, 5225 Canyon Crest Dr, STE 90, opened in 2012 and closed in 2019. It was the first SweetFrog that I ever visited in 2015.
- Sweet’s Yogurt & Creamery, 231 E Alessandro, Ste 6F, was a locally owned, self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2014 and closed in 2016. They also carried hard scoop ice cream and Italian ice.
- Swirl/Mumbles, 1400 University Ave, opened in 2008 as Swirls. At some point, the name was changed to Mumbles. The shop closed in 2010. It was located near UCR.
- Swirl Fiesta, 7706 Limonite Ave, was a self-serve froyo shop that also offered Mexican snacks (e.g., esquites, raspados, bionicos). It opened in 2016 closed in 2020.
- TCBY, 1170 Galleria At Tyler, had a shop at the Galleria at Tyler. I couldn’t find any reviews, so it probably closed a long time ago.
Did I miss any Riverside froyo shops? If so, 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.
SweetFrog Palmdale, CA
Fro-yo girl here. If you’ve been wanting to try SweetFrogSweetFrog and live or visit the West Coast, you should know that SweetFrog has one location left on the West Coast and it’s in Victorville, Caliifornia, 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, north of the San Bernardino mountains on the edge of the Mojave Desert. SweetFrog Victorville opened in 2015.
There were four other SweetFrog shops in California. The shops were in Camarillo, Lancaster, Palmdale, and Riverside. Riverside had the first SweetFrog shop in California.
- SweetFrog, 5225 Canyon Crest Dr, STE 90, Riverside, CA 92507, opened in 2012 and closed in 2019. It was the first SweetFrog that I ever visited in 2015.
- SweetFrog, 2306 Las Posas Rd Ste C, Camarillo, Suite C, Camarillo, CA 93010, was the fifth SweetFrog location in California. It opened in 2015 and closed in 2019.
- SweetFrog, 44758 Valley Central Way, Lancaster, CA 93536 opened in 2014. The name of the shop was changed to Sweet Bunnies Frozen Yogurt in 2023.
- SweetFrog, 38029 E 47th Ave Ste A, Palmdale, CA 93552, opened in 2013 and closed in 2023.
There are no other SweetFrog shops west of Texas.
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 girl here. I finally made it to a sweetFrog location. The fast growing self-serve frozen yogurt chain first entered the California market in March 2013 and now has locations in Lancaster, Palmdale, Riverside and Victorville. The company, which is based in Richmond, VA, was founded in 2009 and has grown to 348 stores. sweetFrog was recently acquired by private equity firm, Boxwood Capital Partners LLC.
“sweetFrog prides itself on providing a family-friendly environment where customers can enjoy soft-serve frozen yogurt, gelato and sorbets with the toppings of their choice. The company was founded on Christian principles and seeks to bring happiness and a positive attitude into the lives of the communities it calls home. The F.R.O.G. in sweetFrog stands for Fully Rely On God, and we show that by being a good neighbor everywhere we move into. Through local partnerships, fundraisers, and much more, our stores become part of the fabric that wraps their communities.”
Froyo & God? The Riverside location isn’t shy about loving God. The product corner which features sweetFrog/God merchandise you can buy features the mascots, Scoop and Cookie, wearing clothing that mentions God and the t-shirts they sell say Fully Rely on God. The Styrofoam froyo cups mention John 3:16 (chapter 3, verse 16 of the Gospel of John).
It’s a little odd…but what you really want to know about is the froyo. The original tart was overly icy, not smooth and lacking a rich yogurt flavor. It was also too soft. The peanut butter was creamy but overly sweet. The toppings bar was standard – fruit, popping boba, mochi, syrups, nuts, candy, cookies, cheesecake, etc.
I can see why kids would like this place – it’s cheerful with pastel colors (inspired by Pinkberry?), a green tile wall that looks like Yogurtland’s and frog mascots, plus there are plenty of frozen yogurt flavors and toppings to choose from for 42 cents/ounce. However, sweetFrog doesn’t differentiate itself from other self-serve chains (other than by offering God/froyo merchandise). Even the merchandise they offer isn’t as cute as Menchie’s.
I was surprised that sweetFrog still uses Styrofoam cups and non-compostable spoons.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* SWEETFROG: Canyon Crest Towne Centre, 5225 Canyon Crest Dr, Riverside, CA 92507
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.
