Get it by the ounce: New FroYo joint now open for business on St. Mark's

In lieu of sarcastic comment, please scream. At the location of the former Spots Cafe. I now miss the dog.

(Oops...didn't see that Grub Street posted the news a little bit earlier today...)

When there's no more room in the trash for your trash

Another nice weekend, another sighting of overflowing FroYo cup-topped trash in front of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery.



Jeremiah has written about this...



...and I don't have anything to add to the discussion...



...but I was curious what people do when they need to discard their trash and there aren't any available trash cans...

One small step...

From Hunter-Gatherer: Six-month-old dessert place OKO on First Avenue (Momofuku Place) is closed for "renovations" after opening six months ago....

Noted

From the Strong Buzz via Eater:

If you’ve had enough of Red Mango, Flurt, YogoMonster and the dozen or other Pinkberry clones that have opened at warp speed around town, it’s time for you to check out Daydream, Union Square’s newest chef-driven frozen yogurt shop.
Owned by Gwen Butler and partners, the shop is fashioned like an old-school ice cream parlor with elegant Italian celeste marble tables and counters, walls and ceiling painted as a windswept blue sky, dark tiled flooring and glossy white high wood wainscoting.Their yogurt is prepared in four flavors from live cultures: green tea, pomegranate, and two styles of plain—one is low-fat with a creamy texture and the other is a light-textured nonfat ($3/$5/$6 for plain flavors, $4/$5/$7 for flavored yogurts).
But the hook at this shop is the toppings (30-85 cents each) which are all made in-house by chef Greg Pena (and some by Ian Russo) like butter rum crunch, peanut butter crumble, and chocolate covered pretzel bits. More unique toppings include infused and spiced wild honeys, organic fruit dust, dehydrated espresso, milled flax seed, honey roasted wheat germ, and chocolate block shavings grated to order. All their nuts are double-roasted for extra flavor, and we toast our coconut as well. Coming soon, they’ll be serving "moffles" which are mochi waffles.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dare to Daydream! -- and eat Fro-Yo

Scene in Stogo

Blogger, seeing what has become of A. Fontana Shoe Repair at 159 Second Ave. at 10th Street and unable to resist the pull of curiosity, steps out of the cold and into the ice cream shop. The door is open. A cashier stands behind the counter while a woman, bundled into sweaters, browses the flavors. The owner, a salt-and-pepper, Pacific Northwesty kind of guy, puts up his hands.

Owner: 10 more minutes. We’ll be open in 10 more minutes.

Blogger: OK. I was just wondering, I’m a blogger. I write about new places. And I was wondering what Stogo means. Are you Swedish?

Owner: The ice cream is all organic.

Blogger: I thought maybe it was Swedish, with the name Stogo. Sounds kind of Swedish. Where is it from?

Owner: We use agave instead of sugar. But we’re not really open yet. 10 more minutes.

Blogger: Is this the only store, or are there more?

Owner: This is the beginning of a business. Please. We’ll be open soon. 10 more minutes. Please. Please.

Blogger exits back into the cold, wondering who would open an ice cream shop in December, around the corner from a dozen other fro-yo and ice cream shops, and wishing for the perk of a free sample.

Dare to Daydream! -- and eat Fro-Yo

As we previously noted, the glassy condo at 110 Third Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street is getting a Fro-Yo shoppe to go along with its Bank of America branch. That Fro-Yo shoppe is now open as of Saturday. [UPDATED: It actually hasn't opened just yet...Grub Street reports that it will open later this week, pending delivery of equipment.]




The sign at this space originally said (warned?) that a Double Fraiche Fro-Yo was opening. Instead, it's a Daydream. Update: Oops part duh! Didn't realize Daydream was the winning pick from a Grub Street reader....Read about it here.

For further Fro-Yo reading on EV Grieve.

The secret to my FroYoSuccess

Last month, Jeremiah bravely posted a report from the field in the midst of the city's harrowing FroYo Wars, reporting on the changes afoot for dessert pioneer Tasti-D-Lite.

Anyway, for no good reason, I recently came across an ad in Entrepreneur.com highlighting the benefits of starting a Tasti D-Lite franchise:

"Tasti D-Lite is the 'guilt-free' daily indulgence of loyal celebrities, A-listers, supermodels, and any New Yorker in the know."

Abfroyolutely!

So, based on that, you could introduce this deliciousness to, say, the good people of Lima, Ohio:

"You could be the first to bring this New York phenomenon to your area, and start a healthy eating trend in your own community. We're now offering single franchises and multi-unit franchises in many U.S. states and territories. If you seek to grow beyond a single location, our simple business model scales beautifully."

Not to mention the many fro-yo shops...

From a New York Times article today titled "Some tourists don't need advice":

A young couple from Zaragoza, Spain, said that what made their trip was the decision to stay in the St. Marks Hotel in the East Village, as opposed to a more traditional Midtown location. “The St. Marks is not a grand hotel,” said Jesús Longares, a 32-year-old engineer. “But it is in a fascinating area. There are many contrasts. You can see a store specializing in comics, and then a boutique for Goths.”

An EV Grieve FYI -- in case you were going to buy a shitload of FroYo today at 16 Handles

The fro-yo wars will be getting ugly (and pricy!)

AdAge.com delves into the competitive world of marketing frozen yogurt.

Red Mango is throwing down the gauntlet in the "authentic frozen yogurt" wars. The chain has hired the Richards Group, Dallas, in a seven-figure deal to create online, in-store, public relations and event marketing. Print and outdoor work will likely be added in 2009.

The chain's announcement comes just weeks after news that archrival Pinkberry hired branding firm Bulldog Drummond, San Diego.

EV Grieve's complete Fro-Yo library.

No, really? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!

At 110 E. Third St. You can't make this stuff up.




So that glassy condo at 110 Third Ave. has a frozen yogurt shop and Bank of America branch in its adjacent retail space. Seems about right.

An EV Grieve FYI

In case you were planning a big outing to the 16 Handles on Second Avenue today...

And now for something new and different on St. Mark's

Alternate headline: You've got to be fucking kidding me.
At the site of the old CBGB shop. (Surprised someone isn't calling this yogurt place Punk Berry.) I even made a joke on March 29 that this location would become a yogurt shop. So I guess this is my fault.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tourists will have to go online to buy their CBGB T-shirts

Important decisions of our time

Getting a Handle on the new yogurt place

I walked by the soon-to-open shop at 153 Second Ave., situated between Ryan's and the Thirsty Scholar, that will sell self-service frozen yogurt.

After I snapped this photo, a man walked out of the shop. I asked him when they would be opening for business. He paused for so long, I got the idea that he had nothing to do with the place and maybe just happened by to steal tools or something. He finally said "maybe in a couple of months." Dunno how reliable that is. You'd think they'd want to be open for the summer...

I've lost track at all the dessert joints along here for tourists and NYU kids. There's the Tasti-D-Lite across the street. And the fat, bald guy's chocolate place. And the 8-9 or so Berry places on St. Mark's...And how many things have given this spot a go in recents years? La Ame Russe? Barracuda Bistro?Bandito?