Beverly Hills Froyo History & Roundup

Fro-yo girl here. There are frozen yogurt shops all over Southern California but there’s something special about froyo in Beverly Hills. It has something to do with the Beverly Hills mystique. People on the streets of Beverly Hills look different. They wear expensive clothes, drive expensive cars and they’re willing to pay more for quality froyo. 

There are currently four frozen yogurt shops in Beverly Hills: FroyoLife, Go Greek Yogurt, and Pinkberry are in the main downtown area while Toppings Yogurt (349 S. Robertson Blvd.) is closer to Pico-Robertson. Toppings, which opened in 2008, is kosher and self-serve. 

Old school Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt had a Beverly Hills location which closed in 2012. I never made it to that location because I was busy going to my favorite froyo shop, Sno:la, next to the Montage Hotel. Sno:la was different – organic, less sweet (with no white sugar), house flavors like sour cherry (my favorite), fresh mochi, healthy toppings and eco-friendly. It opened in 2007 and closed in 2009. They still have a shop in Kyoto, Japan and also a pop-up in Tokyo.

Pinkberry opened its Beverly Hills location (240 S. Beverly Dr.) in 2007 and it’s still open today, nine years later. The Beverly Hills location is their Innovation Kitchen where they test new products (currently these include organic acai and salted caramel coconut milk).

Blanc Haute was the next upscale froyo shop to open; it opened in 2009 and closed in 2010. Blanc Haute had fancy toppings like figs and truffles. It was a stylish place and I was sad to see that it didn’t last. The space is now occupied by a juice shop (not surprising).

Self-serve froyo finally arrived in downtown Beverly Hills when mini-chain FroyoLife (241 S. Beverly Dr.) opened in 2010. It opened directly across the street from Pinkberry. It was a lower cost option with more flavors. They’re still open today. 

Go Greek (452 N Bedford Dr.) was the first Greek froyo/yogurt shop in Beverly Hills; it opened in 2013 and has expanded to Newport Beach (2 locations) and Canoga Park with a Santa Monica location slated to open this year. It’s higher in quality than your typical self-serve froyo place. The yogurt is flown from Greece and is available non-frozen or as frozen yogurt. Authentic Greek yogurt does taste different and it has a smooth, rich texture. Most people only have access to Greek style yogurt. People in Beverly Hills can enjoy real Greek yogurt – seems fitting.

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.