Arlington’s dwindling frozen yogurt market will get a boost sometime soon: the Pinkberry in Clarendon appears set to reopen.
The shop closed this winter when its franchise owner, which operated a handful of Pinkberry locations in the D.C. area, filed for bankruptcy. It was put up for auction and has been laying dormant ever since, with the frozen yogurt machines, cups and furniture all in place on the inside.
The FroZenYo in Ballston, which has been closed all winter to await the return of warm weather, now appears likely to not reopen at all.
The FroZenYo in Crystal City (2231 Crystal Drive) reopened this week, according to the D.C.-based company’s Facebook page. On that same page, the company posted in a comment that the Ballston location is likely closed.
The Pinkberry in Clarendon has been closed for well over a month, with all the equipment inside sitting, waiting, for someone to use it and serve frozen yogurt again.
That day could soon be coming. Pinkberry’s franchise owner, who also owns six other Pinkberry stores in the D.C. area, has declared for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and his stores — including the one at 2930 Clarendon Blvd — are up for auction, according to the Washington Business Journal.
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The Red Mango frozen yogurt shop in Clarendon has closed.
We’re told the store’s last day was Friday. The sign has been removed and the interior has since been almost completely emptied out. Workers could be seen changing the locks today.
Although the announcement of the shop’s arrival in the old “News and Necessities” space at 1735 N. Lynn Street came in April of last year and it hoped to open last summer, Fro.Zen.Yo will now open on Wednesday, June 12.
Co-owner Gary Bobcek became involved with this franchise location about six months ago and said although things haven’t always gone as expected, he is excited to finally be able to serve the public.
Update on 4/4/13 — The store is expected to hold a grand opening April 5 and 6. The store is owned by Bill and Kasi Hansen. Bill is a Yorktown High School graduate and “longtime local resident,” according to a press release. Zinga will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Earlier: The Zinga! Frozen Yogurt store that’s been in the works since last year at 2914 N. Sycamore Street, in the Williamsburg Shopping Center, is nearly ready to open.
The new Tutti Frutti store is located in Pentagon City on the 1300 block of S. Fern Street, near the U.S. Post Office and Epic Smokehouse. The store is the second Tutti Frutti in Arlington, after a location at 2439 N. Harrison Street, in the Lee Harrison Shops.
As reported in July, the location is only a couple of blocks from a Yogiberry frozen yogurt store on Pentagon Row, but the franchise owner of Tutti Frutti isn’t very worried about the competition.
Columbia Pike is getting in on the frozen yogurt craze, with the opening of a Menchie’s (2405 Columbia Pike) in Penrose Square.
The shop opened on Friday (December 28) and features a wall of 16 self-serve frozen yogurt machines and dozens of toppings. Menchie’s tries to cater to people with food allergies, so there are dairy free and gluten free options, as well as extensive ingredient labels for each flavor. Menchie’s has its own organic dairy in California which supplies the products and provides some flavors not available anywhere else.
FroZenYo was originally expected to open at 1735 N. Lynn Street, in the former “News and Necessities” space, this past summer. The froyo chain opened a location in Ballston in August, but the Rosslyn location has yet to materialize.
In a tweet this morning, the Rosslyn Business Improvement announced that FroZenYo is now expected to open at some point this spring.
According to its website, national chain Zinga Frozen Yogurt plans to move into the vacant space at 2914 Sycamore Street, which used to house Garden City Florist.
Like many of the froyo stores popping up around the county, Zinga allows customers to serve themselves one of the three dozen rotating frozen yogurt flavors. There are more than 50 toppings to choose from, and the finished product is sold by weight.
FroZenYo opened last week in the old Smoothie King location at 850 N. Randolph Street, across the street from Ballston Common Mall. The store offers more than a dozen flavors of frozen yogurt and nearly three dozen toppings. Frozen yogurt flavors include original tart, vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, red velvet cake, cake batter, coffee, butter pecan, dulce de leche, mango, coconut, kiwi strawberry, and raspberry pomegranate tart.
The store is open from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10:00 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. We’re told the store is in the process of applying for an outdoor seating permit.
