Tuesday, December 17, 2019

California Froyo Shop Openings and Closings of 2019


Fro-yo girl here. As 2019 comes to an end, it’s time to look at the froyo shop openings and closings of 2019 in California. I believe that California continues to have the most froyo shops. While the focus of this post is on froyo shops, i.e., shops that primarily serve frozen yogurt, I also tried to track froyo not served in froyo shops but served from a soft serve machine, including restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, cafeterias, hospitals, frozen yogurt trucks and trailers.

It's always much easier to track openings since most frozen yogurt have a social media presence and Yelp listing. However, many shops close quietly, without making any announcement. Fortunately, helpful Yelpers are good about reporting closings.

Here’s my attempt to track froyo shop openings and closings in California this year.

Froyo Shop Openings (in alphabetical order): 

  1. 21 Choices Pasadena (moved)
  2. Blitzer’s Yogurt, Murrieta (replaced FroYoLand)
  3. Cups and Cones, Pittsburg
  4. Dolci Mango, Poway
  5. Everest Yogurt, Sacramento
  6. Fog City Yogurt, Pacifica
  7. FROLO Frozen Yogurt, Manteca (moved)
  8. Froyo Freeze, Harbor City
  9. Frozen Land, Westwood, Los Angeles (replaced Yogurtland)
  10. Jon & Bon's Yogurt Shoppe, Rocklin
  11. Live Culture Café, Encinitas
  12. Mangos Frozen Yogurt, Downey (replaced Wild Berry)
  13. Menchie’s, Chula Vista
  14. Menchie’s, Citrus Heights
  15. Menchie’s, Pinole 
  16. Menchie’s, Upland
  17. Menchie’s Victory Plaza, Whittier (replaced Frugo’s)
  18. Original Yogurt Shack, Carlsbad
  19. Peachwave, Seal Beach
  20. Swrlies, Los Angeles (pop-up)
  21. Tiki Tiki Frozen Yogurt & Ice Cream, El Monte (replaced Green Apple Frozen Yogurt)
  22. Tutti Frutti, Montrose (moved)
  23. Yoga-urt, Echo Park, Los Angeles
  24. Yogi Berry, Fresno (replaced Mickey’s Yogurt West)
  25. Yogurt Factory, Temecula (2nd location)
  26. Yogurt Time, Santa Rosa
  27. Yogurt Now, El Sobrante
  28. Yogurtland, Anaheim (Katella)
  29. Yogurtland, La Habra
  30. YOLO, San Anselmo

There were 30 openings this year, compared to 43 in 2018 and 64 in 2017. I've been to 8 of them so far. The number new openings has been on the decline since peaking in 2016. Five new Menchie's locations opened compared to two for Yogurtland. Several shops moved or replaced other froyo shops.

Froyo Shop Closures (in alphabetical order):


  1. Berries, Rancho Cucamonga
  2. Berrystar, Palmdale
  3. Big Spoon, Sacramento
  4. Big Spoon, Fair Oaks
  5. Boardwalk Yogurt, Venice
  6. Bougie’s Frozen Yogurt, Perris
  7. Bravo! Frozen Yogurt, Salinas
  8. California Yogurt, Yuba City
  9. Cherry On Top, Pasadena
  10. Cherry On Top, Garden Grove
  11. Chillz Frozen Yogurt, Riverside 
  12. Chillz Frozen Yogurt, Grand Terrace
  13. Cones, Pittsburg (merged, now part of Nick’s Sandwiches, still offers froyo)
  14. Corner Yogurt, Half Moon Bay
  15. Crazy For Yogurt, Rancho Cordova
  16. Exquisito, Anaheim
  17. Fraiche, Palo Alto
  18. Friza Frozen Yogurt, Torrance
  19. FROLO Frozen Yogurt, Manteca (moved)
  20. Froyo Delite, Hollister
  21. FroYoLand, Murrieta (now Blitzer’s!)
  22. Frugos, Whittier (taken over by Menchie’s)
  23. Fusion Mix, Fremont
  24. Go Bananaz, Tustin
  25. Go Greek, Thousand Oaks
  26. Go Greek, Glendale
  27. Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, Calabasas
  28. Golden Spoon, La Costa, Carlsbad
  29. Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, Rancho Santa Margarita
  30. Golden Spoon, Temecula (Ynez)
  31. Golden Spoon, Temecula (Temecula Pkwy)
  32. Golden Spoon, Wildomar
  33. Great American Yogurt, Huntington Beach
  34. Live Culture Cafe, Encinitas
  35. Loving Cup, Hayes Valley, San Francisco
  36. Major Brain Freeze, Loma Linda
  37. Menchie’s Carmenita Rd., Whittier
  38. Menchie’s, Compton
  39. Menchie’s, Dublin
  40. Mickey’s Yogurt West, Fresno
  41. Miyo Yogurt, Los Altos
  42. Moonlight Yogurt, Encinitas 
  43. OMG! Dessert Lounge, Anaheim
  44. Peachwave, Calabasas
  45. Pinkberry Blossom Hill, San Jose
  46. Pinkberry Hillcrest, San Diego
  47. Pinkberry, La Canada Flintridge 
  48. Pinkberry Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
  49. Pinkberry, Newport Beach  
  50. Pinkberry, San Francisco
  51. Pinkberry, Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica
  52. San Clemente Yogurt, San Clemente
  53. Sweet Swirl, Claremont
  54. sweetFrog, Camarillo
  55. SweetXO, Agoura Hills
  56. Swirls, Encinitas
  57. Tutti Frutti, La Crescenta (moved to Montrose)
  58. Tutti Frutti, Huntington Park
  59. Tutti Frutti, National City
  60. Tutti Frutti, University Park, Los Angeles
  61. Twins Frozen Yogurt, Rancho Cucamonga
  62. U Yogurt, Ventura
  63. Wild Berry, Downey
  64. Xtreme Frozen Yogurt, Carlsbad
  65. Yo Place, Long Beach
  66. Yogurt De Lite, Fremont
  67. Yogurt Delight, Dublin
  68. Yogurt Haven, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles
  69. Yogurt Shack, Carlsbad
  70. Yogurt Time, La Palma
  71. Yogurt Zone, Vacaville
  72. Yogurtland, Old Town Pasadena
  73. Yogurtland, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
  74. Yogurtland, Poway
  75. Yogurtland, Westwood, Los Angeles
  76. Yogurtland, Colima & Fullerton, Rowland Heights
  77. Yogurtland, Beverly Connection, Los Angeles
  78. Yogurtlicious, Corona
  79. Yumi Yogurt, Redwood City 
There were 79 froyo shop closures in 2019, compared to 68 in 2018 and 99 in 2017. There were more closures than openings, as in 2017 and 2018. Another batch of Pinkberry shops closed, seven in total. Three Menchie's locations closed and six Yogurtland locations. Some old school shops closed that seemed like they'd be around forever, including Yogurt De Lite in Fremont, Great American Yogurt in Huntington Beach, and Yumi Yogurt in Redwood City.

New Places Serving Froyo But Not a Froyo Shop: 


  • Al’s Deli, San Francisco
  • Apizza, San Francisco (Loving Cup)
  • Coit Tower Café, San Francisco
  • Eatery, Encino Freshii, Oakland
  • Loop Neighborhood Market, Temecula
  • Loop Neighborhood Market, Meridian, San Jose
  • Souvla Marina, San Francisco
  • N2 Lab, Monrovia, January 2019
  • Nick the Greek, Morgan Hill
  • Nick the Greek, San Carlos
  • Nick the Greek, Santa Clara
  • Nick the Greek, Santa Cruz
  • Nick’s Sandwiches, Pittsburg (merged with Cones)
  • Quarters Kitchen, Yorba Linda
Froyo is on the menu at the restaurants and convenience stores. Nick the Greek is a fast casual Greek chain that's currently in growth mode in the Bay Area. Loop Neighborhood Market continues to offer self-serve froyo.

Froyo Shop, Temporarily Closed:

  • Golden Spoon, Long Beach
Golden Spoon Long Beach is expected to reopen in December. 21 Choices was closed in Claremont for months but it did reopen after remodeling.

Reopened in Same Spot After Remodeling:

  • 21 Choices, Claremont
Not New, Not a Froyo Shop, Started Offering Froyo:
  • Happy Days Café, Sherman Oaks
Had Froyo but No Longer Offers:
  • Yalla Mediterranean locations (7)
    • Walnut Creek, Burbank, Fremont, Seal Beach, Culver City, Dublin, Pleasant Hill
Closed, Not a Froyo Shop But Offered Froyo:

  • Exquisito, Anaheim
  • Mission Oaks Cafe, Camarillo
  • Poki Yo, Yorba Linda
  • Tea-nilicious, Hawaiian Gardens


New Management not a Froyo Shop:
  • Health Habits, Valley Springs
New Ownership, Froyo Shop:
  • Razzle Dazzle, Upland 
  • Yogurt Creations, Arroyo Grande
  • Yogurt Creations, Atascadero
  • Yogurt Creations, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
  • Yogurt Creations, Lompoc
  • Yogurt Creations, Paso Robles
  • Yogurt Creations, Santa Maria
Coming Soon:
  • Apizza Belmont 
  • Dolci Mango, Poway 
  • Easy Breezy, Corte Madera 
  • Fraiche, Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto
  • Jon & Bon’s Yogurt Shoppe, Rocklin 
  • Loop Neighborhood Market, Sacramento 
  • Loop Neighborhood Market, Meridian – San Jose 
  • Pinkberry Valley Fair, Santa Clara
  • YogoFarm, Los Angeles
  • Yogart, Grantville, San Diego
  • Yogurt & Yogurt, Moreno Valley
There's a lot to keep track of! Expect to see Reis & Irvy's froyo robots in California, next year. I hope Pinkberry does open new locations because so many have closed. The only ones left in the Bay Area are in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. I feel sad for all the people who want Pinkberry but don't live close to one. And while they now have a foodservice program that allows just about any business to serve Pinkberry, it's still hard to find. For example, the Eatery in Encino offered Pinkberry for a month but then they discontinued. Polkatots in Pasadena apparently had Pinkberry briefly, but every time I call about it, they say that they've run out???

Since I find out about openings and closings after publishing my post, I’ll keep updating this post. Did I miss any openings or closings in 2019? 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.

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