You and I may disagree on many things, but we’re (probably) united when it comes to frozen yogurt: It’s awesome!
It’s the treat that allows you to live vicariously. It comes in flavors of things you crave (but feel guilty eating), it’s lower in calories than ice cream and it gives you an excuse to eat toppings.
Spokane’s deficiency of frozen-yogurt joints has long left me baffled.
Stephen Kraft, owner and creator of Froyo Earth (at Second Ave. and Division), says operation costs are likely to blame. In the world of frosty treats, yogurt is the high-maintenance girlfriend. It requires tending to.
“The machines aren’t cheap,” says Kraft.
“It’s not like opening a Baskin-Robbins, where you produce one product and you have a couple of freezers.” Kraft says the price of one soft-serve yogurt machine approaches $15,000.
That’s a spendy dispensary apparatus. But I’m hoping the investment pays off.
Froyo Earth, which is brand-new, is the closest thing to competition that Didier’s (Spokane’s reigning north-side king of cultures) has seen in, like, 20 years. And Froyo is entering the market with super yogurt, a product of Portland’s YoCreams — a consumer-health-minded company that exceeds the requirements set by the National Yogurt Association with higher-than-average levels of live and active cultures.
So that’s a two-for-one right there. Your taste buds and colon will be, all, “We [heart] you!” “There are more people who think about what they put in their mouths than before,” says Kraft. “We all love ice cream, but how much can America have? It can make you feel sluggish, fat, bored and thirsty. I don’t get that with yogurt. I wanted to make a nice, cool place to enjoy a cool treat.”
Self-service at Froyo is simple. Pick your size (12-, 16- or 32ounce); flavor or flavors (Red Velvet Cake? Pistachio? Raspberry Pomegranate Sorbet? Georgia Peach? New York Cheesecake? Cable Car Chocolate?); and toppings (malt balls? marshmallow cream? fresh blueberries and honey? Cap’n Crunch?). Then you pay 39 cents an ounce (with a 10 percent discount if you pay in cash).
With Starbucks next door, Froyo has the potential for popularity. But Kraft is ready: His store — with fresh interior accented by green-tiled walls and ample seating — is clean, efficient and staffed with friendly employees.
The building is also eco-friendly, with low-energy lighting and a closed cooling system. And Froyo is nutrition-friendly, with a hand-cut selection of strawberries, kiwis, peaches, pineapples, blueberries and raspberries.
“It’s really is great seeing kids reaching for fruit,” says Kraft.
Froyo Earth, 172 S. Division, is open Sun-Thurs 11 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat, 11 am-11 pm. Visit froyoearth.comor call 455-8000.
