REVOLVING DOOR: Out With Yogurt, In With Juice

Remember a couple of years ago when people would line up in front of Pinkberry stores and it was all people could talk about?
Well, things have changed.
This morning, New York Magazine's Grub Street blog informs us that the bottom has fallen out of the Frozen Yogurt business in New York, marking the end of one more factor that has been inflating retail rents in neighborhoods all over the city. Pinkberries and Red Mangoes all over the city have quietly vanished, and other chains have canceled previously announced plans to expand in the city. A host of factors are listed including the sameness of the product (most use identical yogurt mixes form the same Dannon-owned supplier), high overhead since the shops look for the most expensive spaces in high-traffic shopping areas, and plain old product saturation. Once faithful customers, weary of the product's ubiquity, have just gotten tired of it and dropped it altogether, especially when they discovered that the product wasn't exactly as healthful and guilt-free as advertising implied.

So, does this mean relief for streets like Amsterdam Avenue on Manhattan's Upper West Side where residents and community boards have recently been complaining that an alarming influx of frogurt has displaced other, needed business and services? Not necessarily. Another trendy food business with similar real estate requirements is taking hold and shows little sign of losing steam —for now. You might not be too sad to see your neighborhood Pinkberry vanish, but don't be surprised when Liquiteria swiftly moves in. Many remaining yogurt shops are experimenting with adding juice to boost business. Green juices, it seems, are the new Fro-Yo, so this may be a good time to plan that cleanse.

Fro-No: How New York City Soured on Frozen Yogurt (Grub Street)