Amicus

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.

hjmanasa

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.

Travel K

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.

jmastron

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.

4Health

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.

dbuckho

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.

emma69

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!

CMK10

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.

jamiel

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

Steph3n

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 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.

AlexSTC

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.

cordelli

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.

FlyingDoctorwu

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

dbuckho

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.

WNLuvr

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.