DiningBuzz! - Self-serve frozen yogurt stores

Talk about a fad explosion...

1. How many have opened recently within 5 miles of your house?
2. How many do you think will be around this time next year?

For me, it's 4 and 1.

I do wish some started carrying soy-based frozen yogurts. Miss Swede is allergic to dairy, so she's always left to having their sorbets (while very tasty, just isn't the same as going out for ice cream).

Shoprite near my house has it... Quite a hit, that they had to install another machine.

I do see many customers, enjoying their soft serve ice cream / yogurt, and shopping, coming back to top the bowl before heading to the register.

In essence, what ever they ate while at the store while shopping is free.

I wish they had them near us! I tend to get cravings for soft serve at 9 or 10 PM, just after ice cream places have closed for the evening, and just after McDonald's (last resort) has shut off their machine to clean it. The number of times Mr. Kipper has driven somewhere to get soft serve for me, only to end up coming home without ice cream is ridiculous. :)

I wish they had them near us! I tend to get cravings for soft serve at 9 or 10 PM, just after ice cream places have closed for the evening, and just after McDonald's (last resort) has shut off their machine to clean it. The number of times Mr. Kipper has driven somewhere to get soft serve for me, only to end up coming home without ice cream is ridiculous. :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Taylor-Two-Head-Soft-Serve-Ice-Cream-Machine-Model-754-/180685633976?pt=BI_Commercial_Ice_Cream_Machines&hash=item2a11b3f9b8

There was one near my old office and I totally loved it. Ten daily flavors (well three that were always there and seven that rotated) and fruit and other toppings. This time of year, it was lunch more than any other place.

They of course were using the drug dealer mentality, get people use to it, and then go up in price (you paid by the ounce) pretty much raising the price 75%. They are still pretty busy though.

You need to be in a huge traffic area and have to offer something else (this was offering coffee too)

Don't complain - you can hardly find any in the UK... it's only since I moved to the Middle East that I've experienced frozen yoghurt in all it's glory!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Taylor-Two-Head-Soft-Serve-Ice-Cream-Machine-Model-754-/180685633976?pt=BI_Commercial_Ice_Cream_Machines&hash=item2a11b3f9b8

He's threatened to buy one of those for me. :) Well, probably more for his sanity. :D

Although, considering we'll also occasionally give the dogs a small serving of vanilla ice cream, I have no doubt that if we installed one in our house, the dogs would figure out how to operate the machine. Or, at least how to turn on the ice cream machine, and we'd come home to find that they'd emptied it. :D

They haven't caught on here in Durham yet, but when I lived in the Phoenix area it seemed there was one on every block. I went to them occasionally, they're not terrible, though for my money I prefer ice cream.

There was 1 here in the STL area in 2009. There are now 22+, with more opening every day. I enjoy it, but this is ridiculous.

I expect 2/3 to shut down within 2 years.

Pinkberry has been all over NYC for the last several years...I think the trend starts on the coasts and works its way in. A year after I noticed Pinkberrys in NYC, I saw Yogen Fruz in Chicago.

Pinkberry isn't self serve in New York City though, unless they have changed.

You can get frozen soft serve ice cream or yogurt almost anyplace, but the self serve stuff is still not all that common.

Pinkberry isn't self serve in New York City though, unless they have changed.

You can get frozen soft serve ice cream or yogurt almost anyplace, but the self serve stuff is still not all that common.

Oh, sorry. I missed the part about self serve. I saw "self" and thought "soft". :)

I keep thinking they are and when I pass by one look in. :D

The one on 6th and 26th or so has it right, have two container sizes, huge and jumbo, so that anybody who doesn't know fills it 1/3 or 1/2 way up and is still spending a fortune before they put all the toppings on.

I've seen people end up with a pound and a half in the large container, barely getting any change back from a $10 bill

"They haven't caught on here in Durham yet,"

But in Burlington/Elon...they have a few and the (college) kids are crazy for it - probably spending more on toppings than soft serve!

Yogurtland recently opened near me. I can't stand the stuff.

There's an Orange Leaf Self Serve competing with the Yogurtini. Something like 75 toppings and 15 flavors available.
Other similar places nearby, but don't know their names. All are new within the last six months or so.
I avoid dairy products, so don't know if they do well.

There is a place in Monterrey right by the water downtown that charges by the weight and people put on 10 or more toppings and walk out with a $9 bowl of yogurt.

There has been 3 open up in our area in the past couple of years. I first went to one a few years ago in Hawaii when visiting family. I think they are good, but entirely overpriced. My husband had a bit of sticker shock when we paid for our treats.

We have yet to go to one here that has opened.

5 or 6 within a mile of us (downtown in a medium sized city); I expect 2-3 at most to be open a year from now.

Most are the kind where you fill your own cup, put whatever toppings you want on (from fruits to a small candy-store selection), and pay by weight. This is great with the kids (5yo and 7yo), who really don't need or end up eating what goes as a "small" ice cream when the store scoops it. These places will weigh all 4 of our cups together -- we can each get a reasonable amount of yogurt, topped with some special treats, for $5-$7 total for all of us, which is a good deal.

"They haven't caught on here in Durham yet,"

But in Burlington/Elon...they have a few and the (college) kids are crazy for it - probably spending more on toppings than soft serve!

Yes, even a little further over in the Triad we have quite a few. Two have opened in Winston Salem in the last several months and they are only about 3 minutes from my work. Unfortunately, I have developed an unhealthy addiction of going to whole foods and then going to the brand new organic self-serve place that is literally located next door.

Los Angeles is the epicenter of the recent yogurt fads (i.e. the original/first Pinkberry and Yogurtland stores among others were in SoCal) -- so the count of self-service places within 5 miles of my house is at least 10. Probably 20+ in a 10 mile radius. Chains like Yogurtland, Menchie's, Tutti Frutti, and Cherry on Top are most common but lots of single shop places as well. They even have one at my work!

I was in NYC last summer and remember going with a friend to a Pinkberry that had just opened on the upper east side -- lines out the door and employees explaining what it was about -- just like it used to be here in LA. But at the same time that the tart flavors were new to New Yorkers, Pinkberry was closing stores here in LA. Not to mention their main competitor, Red Mango, was basically leaving the LA market. So the market can change very quickly.

A lot of Pinkberry's leveling off had to do with the rise of the self-service places (who also offer the tart flavors along with traditional ones - it was the tart flavor that drove the original fad). And the self-service options continue to expand -- especially since most are franchises and it does not take a lot of investment to buy one and start up. 2 more on top of the 10 are about to open in my 5 mile radius. But you are already seeing some changes due to increased competition. For example, Menchie's just dropped the per store loyalty punchcards and now has a chain-wide loyalty program. And there is definitely some experimenting with the prices (both and up and down) to see what the market will bear?

Even with the self-service places, most of the Pinkberry stores are still open. And the original local yogurt chains like Penguins are still around too along with some really good local shops. You have to keep in mind that a yogurt store has really really low overhead. If they have the right rent, they can make a profit. TCBY was founded back in the early 1980s and still has 450 stores nationwide!

Another thing I think the self-service places have going for them is the general lack of a line. When Pinkberry was popular you had to stand and wait to order -- then wait for your order to be made - whereas a dozen people can be helping themselves at the same time in some of these newer self-service stores -- then just a short wait (if any) to weigh and pay. The time from engagement with the product to consumption is much more optimal.

I actually think 75% or more will stay open at least 2 years here in LA (though lower in other parts of the country). Just an opinion, but to me it seems like they are taking away more dessert business from other stores/restaurants than cannibalizing each other or existing yogurt places. For example, had dinner at a neighborhood place last night. But we skipped dessert there and stopped at a Menchie's on the walk back instead. Paying $4 for a cup of yogurt and getting what we wanted seemed a better value proposition than spending $8 on the restaurant's dessert which may or may not be good. Same for the ones at grocery stores or gas stations - I think people grabbing a cup of yogurt instead of a frozen package of ice cream.

I have never come across one of these places! That said, I have been resisting going to a marble slab place (that is near me) since October when I went to one with relatives in San Jose, CA! So mustn't be much of an ice cream fiend I guess!

I was in Tempe, AZ last weekend and was astonished to see there were even more than there used to be. Mill Avenue, the main drag in Tempe which has fallen on hard times recently and has had many places close, now has two yogurt stores within a quarter mile of each other.

I burned myself out on soft serve 25 years ago in college where they had 2 flavors every day AYCE in the dining hall. Love those midwestern ag schools :cool:

Spoons (oldest and packed untl midnight each night, will the be one that makes it), Spoonful, Orange Leaf, got several now within a few miles.

Original Tart is the best :D I know it isn't everyone's serving o yogurt, but I love it.

And yes they have a rotating soy based flavor, and several soy based sugar free as well as sorbets as spoons.

The ones in NYC aren't self serve. Been to one in San Fran and it was self serve and was a bit more fun. lol.

I have seen a bunch of new ones open up but have also seen about 2 or 3 already close within 6 months of opening.

There are some self serve frozen yogurt places in New York, just not Pink Berry. The Coffee Roasters and frozen yogurt place at 26th and 6th for example has ten flavors rotating daily, and the stuff is pretty good.

But since they raised their price after getting everybody hooked on it, it was not cheap.

Just one near us; a TCBY.. interestingly enough it advertizes itself as "the only self serve yogurt bar".

More interesting was the tip jar by the register...

so let me get this straight, I do all the work and....

No thanks..

FDW

May have to revise my 2 year survival rate estimate down -- drove by one of the 10 I had counted within 5 miles today and it is now closed. This was a traditional yogurt place (order at the counter) that had converted to self-serve on Santa Monica Blvd. One of the cheaper priced places is just a few blocks west - that may have done them in. Then again, another larger place just opened about 1/4 mile east on Santa Monica (one of the 2 I had counted as coming) - so maybe the owners of this now closed store just decided to pack up vs. fight saturation.

I haven't patronized any of the (many, many) self-serve frozen yogurt places here in LA since I saw this scenario go down about a year ago at a Yogurtland:

1. Employee gives a small "sample" cup to a gentleman who (although I could not confirm it) looks to be homeless.

2. Man takes sample cup to yogurt machine #1 and dispenses a bit into cup.

3. Man eats yogurt directly out of sample cup without using a spoon (tongue in cup).

4. Man takes the same sample cup to yogurt machine #2 and repeats steps 2 and 3, holding the used cup directly onto the yogurt nozzle.

True, this was probably a one-off situation but I'll stick with Pinkberry where the employees serve the yogurt over the self-serve places.

They are opening left and right in my neighborhood in Chicago.

One particular block had a yogurt place open last year. This summer, the same block had 2 others open - one being self-serve. The self-serve place appears to be well run - things like sampling outside, cutting fresh fruit at the counter inside.... One of the other 2 places has already shut-down.
I think the self-serve places will be around for a while.

While a few miles past the five mile mark just discovered one will be opening near home, sixteen handles, a chain.

No clue what they will charge.

A couple of YogurtLand's in a 30 mile radius here in SoCal: self-serve, weigh and pay...

Yogurtland recently opened near me. I can't stand the stuff.

I live in between two Yogurtlands. I actually think its pretty good :)

A Tutti Fruti has opened in Durham and reports I've heard from my siblings and their friends are vastly negative.

3 within 3 mile radius...including 1 Yogurtland and 2 local ones.

I was little skeptical at first, but I do enjoy them from time to time.

Dont know the number, but I will say the cups they have are waaaaaaaaay too big. Van easily put a $10 yogurt together without even trying.

3 within 3 mile radius...including 1 Yogurtland and 2 local ones.

I was little skeptical at first, but I do enjoy them from time to time.

Check out froyo machine reviews and much more at www.YogurtRethink.com

It's a bit of a superfluous comment seeing as they price the yoghurt by weight, but I'd be much more enthusiastic about a toppings establishment where you can opt to put on a little yoghurt on top, than the usual way. Crushed peanuts, blackberries and heath bar would be a bit dry (a downside to just toppings), so throw on a lil' yoghurt and I'm satisfied.

It's a bit of a superfluous comment seeing as they price the yoghurt by weight, but I'd be much more enthusiastic about a toppings establishment where you can opt to put on a little yoghurt on top, than the usual way. Crushed peanuts, blackberries and heath bar would be a bit dry (a downside to just toppings), so throw on a lil' yoghurt and I'm satisfied.

You can do exactly that, although for most the yogurt is the enticing thing. :) I'm very hapy we don't have any of these, because it would be very, very bad for me.

You can do exactly that, although for most the yogurt is the enticing thing. :) I'm very hapy we don't have any of these, because it would be very, very bad for me.

Saa, I realized this as I was at a self-serve fro-yo place two days ago. However, I was thinking of it on a grander scale, à la Economy Candy in Manhattan (if fellow FTers are unfamiliar, it has a whole slew of teeth-defying sugared snacks and candies, but I'll be damned if I can't find one place that still sells a Rainforest Crunch bar, or Kit-Kat Peanut Butter-in the states).

As a health nut, I rarely eat "ICE CREAM". But frozen yogurt? For some reason, I tell myself, "Its HEALTHY!". Even when I put a whole bunch of not so healthy toppings on it like chocolate sprinkles, etc. etc. I do try and put fruit and nuts on top too, so I guess not so bad.

I frequent a few places in MCO. Don't know of any in HNL yet. Certainly in ORD.

They are POPULAR. Even with me. As a matter of fact, now because of this thread, I'll have to pop into one tomorrow.

I usually go for Josie's Yogurt, in University Mall shopping center at Braddock road. They have some pretty good flavors with fruity and candy toppings and the prices are very low.

They are all over the place in Dallas. I've been to a few. But it's not really my favorite thing.

I've lived near USC and Duke, several within a few mile radius in both areas

As a health nut, I rarely eat "ICE CREAM". But frozen yogurt? For some reason, I tell myself, "Its HEALTHY!". Even when I put a whole bunch of not so healthy toppings on it like chocolate sprinkles, etc. etc. I do try and put fruit and nuts on top too, so I guess not so bad.

I frequent a few places in MCO. Don't know of any in HNL yet. Certainly in ORD.

They are POPULAR. Even with me. As a matter of fact, now because of this thread, I'll have to pop into one tomorrow.


Of course they're all over the place in Hawaii, they've been there for years. :)
We only have one Pinkberry though, and it's in HNL past security.

They're also all over the Middle East! Anyone know if it's popular in Europe? As much as I love frozen yogurt, I would definitely prefer gelato or Berthillon ice cream to it. :D

I've been meaning to go to one recently. Been forever. But ever since I went to Italy years back I've been opposed with gelato. Slightly healthier and way better tasting then ice cream.

Of course they're all over the place in Hawaii, they've been there for years. :)
We only have one Pinkberry though, and it's in HNL past security.

They're also all over the Middle East! Anyone know if it's popular in Europe? As much as I love frozen yogurt, I would definitely prefer gelato or Berthillon ice cream to it. :D

You'd think, since I've had a place in Oahu for years, that I would have noticed them. I just don't frequent Yogurt places. I found one near Ward Center yesterday. I'm obviously in HNL as I type.

Yummy. I usually do an Acai Bowl at Jamba when I'm in Hawaii. I did sub the Yogurt yesterday.

I must admit... I'm a fan of the self-serve yogurt shop. You are right... it is some-what faddish. I am equally happy and sad that there isn't one within 5 miles of my house :)