Meet the Owner of Menchie's Peppertree Plaza

Fro-yo girl here. I had the chance to sit down and chat with Bob Lillard, owner of Menchie's Peppertree Plaza and resident of San Ramon. This is Bob's first fro-yo shop and the first northern California location of Menchie's.

How he wound up owning a Menchie's store. Bob's previous experiences include managing food and clothing stores and more recently, owning an IT business. On his annual trip to Yosemite with friends, he reconnected with a brother of a friend (Larry) who happened to be the owner of two Menchie's locations in SoCal. Bob already liked fro-yo, particularly the self-serve concept, and after talking to Larry, he was intrigued by the idea of owning his own Menchie's store. After he met the founders, he was convinced that Menchie's was the right opportunity for him.

What happens at the Menchie's new owner training. New owners go through a 1 week training session. They learn about how to operate the store, how to break down the fro-yo machines, how to fill the machines, how to troubleshoot the machines, etc. They also work in Menchie's stores to get hands on experience in all aspects of running the shop, from working the cash register, to cutting the fruit and beyond.

What makes Menchie's different. Customer service, being part of the community and the fun of making your own mix. He received over 250 job applications and so he was able to pick and choose people who were friendly and welcoming. He expects employees to greet each customer. New customers are given a quick explanation of how things work. He's arranged to offer free fro-yo to several elementary schools in the area. Some customers go there once, even twice a day and he's received many compliments about the fro-yo and the customer service.

Does he have good swirling skills? He says yes.

Does he eat fro-yo every day? Yes. And he's only tried 25 of the 100 or so Menchie's flavors, so he's still got plenty of flavors to try.

What's his favorite Menchie's mix? Red velvet fro-yo with fresh raspberries and cheesecake bits

What you didn't know about Menchie's Peppertree Plaza. The opening date was selected after consulting the Chinese calendar for a lucky day and the store has good feng shui. You may spot a lucky cat on the premises.

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

* MENCHIE'S PEPPERTREE PLAZA: 973 E. Stanley Blvd., Livermore, CA