Fro-yo girl here. John Bolton opened the first Yogurt Creations in Atascadero in 2003. At the time, it may have been the only froyo shop in Atascadero, a smaller Central Coast city with a population under 30,000, though there were froyo shops in San Luis Obispo and other cities along the Central Coast of California. The next Yogurt Creations opened in Arroyo Grande, followed by San Luis Obispo. By 2014, there were seven Yogurt Creations branches along the Central Coast.
Ownership changed in late 2019 and then again in January 2020. The new owners also purchased Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt in Oxnard, California and converted it into a Yogurt Creations. Yogurt Creations opened in Oxnard in late 2020 and closed later in 2020. They also announced plans to open in Pismo Beach, though I don’t think that location ever opened.
The SBA PPP loan of $191,450.00 in January 2021 kept Yogurt Creations afloat for a few months. In 2021, four locations closed. The last store, Santa Maria, closed in January 2022. The Santa Maria store was in the news because when it closed, the owners still owed employees outstanding wages. This was probably the case at other locations, e.g., Arroyo Grande, where the owners were evicted.
I remember visiting the Atascadero, downtown SLO, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, and Paso Robles locations.
Yogurt Creations Locations (listed by opening date, from oldest to newest)
- Atascadero, 7341 El Camino Real, was the original location. The store opened in 2003 and closed 2021.
- Arroyo Grande, 1540 E Grand Ave, opened in 2008. The owners were evicted in September 2021.
- San Luis Obispo, 1075 Court St # 130, opened in the downtown area in 2008 and closed in 2017.
- Santa Maria, 2415 S Broadway, opened in 2008 and closed in January 2022. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony in January 2020 when ownership changed.
- Paso Robles, 104 Niblick Rd, opened in 2010 and closed in 2021.
- Lompoc, 1620 N H St, opened in 2011 and closed in 2021.
- San Luis Obispo at Cal Poly, 1 Grand Ave Bldg 65, RM 121, opened in 2013 on campus in the Julian A. McPhee University Union I’m not sure when it closed.
- A mobile unit (trailer) may have opened in 2019 and was based in Atascadero.
- Oxnard, 2819 Saviers Rd, took over the Tutti Frutti space during 2020. Tutti Frutti closed due to the coronavirus. Yogurt Creations was only open for a few months in 2020 before closing for good.
- Pismo Beach was announced but never opened
Santa Maria and Lompoc no longer have any froyo shops. RIP, Yogurt Creations.
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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