Showing posts with label Cantaloop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cantaloop. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Painful Froyo Shop Closures of 2025

Frog


Fro-yo girl here. It’s always sad when a froyo shop closes, but some closures are more painful than others. These are the shops that I’ll miss most in alphabetical order. I’ve visited all the shops on this list.

Active Culture, 6240 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 170, Long Beach, opened at the attractive 2nd & PCH shopping center in 2022. Active Culture is a natural foods health café that started in Orange County. The Long Beach branch was their first and only branch in Los Angeles County. While the original location in Laguna Beach has self-serve froyo, the one in Long Beach had counter-serve froyo. The grain bowls and nachos were very tasty. 

Cantaloop, 7095 Hollywood Blvd, Ste 106, Los Angeles, was one of the older froyo shops in Los Angeles. This was the first location; it opened in April 2007 and was similar to Pinkberry (i.e., counter-serve, tart froyo specialist). In 2008, the owners decided to add coffee, oatmeal, and waffles and convert to self-serve. The menu continued to expand over the years. Additions included shaved ice, smoothies, slushies, ice blended drinks, and boba drinks. In 2022, Cantaloop began offering Ethiopian food, first out of a mobile van parked in the parking lot and later in the actual storefront. Ownership changed a few times. I wasn’t a fan, but it reminded me of the early days of froyo, and it managed to survive for 18 years.

Frog Frozen Yogurt Bar, 1550 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, opened in 2012. The self-serve froyo shop had a nightclub feel with original artwork from Plasticgod and rainbow-colored lights. It was open late. The froyo had great texture. The shop is shown in The Kominsky Method, Season 2, Episodes 4 and 6. 

Toppings Frozen Yogurt, 872 Via De La Paz, Pacific Palisades, and The Yogurt Shoppe, 873 N Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, were both lost in the Palisades Fire in January 2025. They had the same ownership. The Yogurt Shoppe first opened in 2011. Toppings Frozen Yogurt opened in 2012. The owners are hoping to rebuild.

Farewell, old friends. You are missed.

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.

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Last Cantaloop Closes in Hollywood

 

2023

2025


Fro-yo girl here. Cantaloop was one of the older froyo shops in Los Angeles. This was their first location; it opened in April 2007 and was similar to Pinkberry (i.e., counter-serve, tart froyo specialist). Paris Hilton visited in 2007, in the early days of the tart froyo craze.

In 2008, the owners decided to add coffee, oatmeal, and waffles and convert to self-serve. The menu continued to expand over the years. Additions included shaved ice, smoothies, slushies, ice blended drinks, and boba drinks. In 2022, Cantaloop began offering Ethiopian food, first out of a mobile van parked in the parking lot and later in the actual storefront. Ownership changed a few times. I wish that I had gone when it first opened in 2007.

I hadn’t visited for a long time, because I didn’t like it, but I would always look at it when driving by. The storefront is vacant now. It probably closed earlier this year?

I remember the Pasadena and Culver City locations. Those closed a long time ago. The Cantaloop in Pasadena closed in 2012 and the Culver City one in 2010.

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

* CANTALOOP, 7095 Hollywood Blvd Ste 106 Los Angeles, CA 90028

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.


Thursday, January 17, 2013

Pasadena Fro-yo Report: Fro-yo vs. Cupcakes


Fro-yo girl here. Lovely Pasadena, the 9th largest city in Los Angeles County, has quite a few fro-yo options. While the line always seems to be the longest at 21 Choices, several fro-yo shops in town closed last year including Cantaloop, Frozziyo, and Yoguroo.

I’ve mentioned 21 Choices several times on this blog. It’s similar to Cold Stone Creamery only with fro-yo as a base and better toppings than CSC. The mix-ins are added to your fro-yo on a cold slab and mixed together. 


In Old Town, other fro-yo options include Pinkberry (a smaller location), Moka Cafe, TCBY/Mrs. Fields, Jamba Juice and Cold Stone Creamery. TCBY and Cold Stone Creamery offer scoopable fro-yo. Jamba Juice has a mix-in style similar to Yogen Fruz. 21 Choices has many more mix-ins than Jamba Juice. Moka Cafe offers two flavors of fro-yo a day (not self-serve) and feels more like a coffeehouse than a fro-yo shop.


The self-serve frozen yogurt shops are closer to CalTech and Pasadena City College. Buzio’s and Cherry on Top are both self-serve fro-yo shops. Buzio’s is independently owned while Cherry on Top is a SoCal based chain. Cherry on Top also offers pretty good tea based drinks there, including boba milk tea.


The nearest Yogurtland is several miles away in Alhambra, while Menchie’s, Buster’s and Penguin’s offer fro-yo in South Pasadena.


I’m pretty sure that there are more cupcake shops in Pasadena than fro-yo places. Once you reach Alhambra, fluff ice and boba tea places seem more popular than fro-yo. 


If I had to pick a favorite fro-yo shop in Pasadena, I’d choose 21 Choices. Some of the fro-yo flavors that have candy and cookies mixed in are so good! Plus the flavors are more customized. Try the Circus Animal Cookie fro-yo. 


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


* 21 CHOICES FROZEN YOGURT: 85 West Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104