FroYo casualty: Twister is done on Second Avenue

Twister has closed on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street. Which may not be too much of a surprise given that we never ever ever saw one person inside the place other than employees. (Somewhere we have a photo of an employee sitting by the front window playing a game on his smartphone ... next to a Help Wanted banner.)

The family owned and operated self-serve frozen yogurt shop opened back in August.

On this subject matter, several readers have noted that Twist on Avenue A appears to be dead. (What is the difference between Twist and Twister? Please don't answer.)

Still! Despite closures like this, the froyo craze doesn't show signs of ever slowing down... Red Mango opened earlier this year on Second Avenue... and then there's Funkiberry coming to Third Avenue. Per their website: "Funkiberry is the land of endless yogurt possibilities, where you rule the portions, the choices and the scene."

Red Mango now open on Second Avenue

That crucially needed Red Mango has opened on Second Avenue between East Fourth Street and East Third Street … not sure exactly when it officially opened… though it has to be pretty recent given that the Red Mango sign is just plopped there on the sidewalk…

A Red Mango came and went pretty quickly on St. Mark's Place back in 2008… will this time be any different?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Uh-huh: Red Mango returning to the East Village (19 comments)

Uh-huh: Red Mango returning to the East Village

You just can't make this shit up... on Second Avenue just south of East Fourth Street... a Red Mango will be opening soon... right next door to a gelato shop...



Red Mango opened and closed on St. Mark's Place a few years back... but apparently the FroYo Force is strong...

Will Bleecker Bob's sell records inside the FroYo shop that's taking its place?

Possibly! DNAinfo reports today.

After a huge rent hike, the nearly 45-year-old shop is closing. And Forever Yogurt is taking over the space.

Per Andrea Swalec's article:

The self-serve dessert seller Forever Yogurt is in talks with Bleecker Bob's management for the fro-yo and music combo, Forever Yogurt franchise CEO Mandy Calara said Thursday.

"We're talking with them about a counter with their inventory," he said. "And we're decorating the place so it carries on the design of Bleecker Bob's."

Maybe Forever Yogurt can name flavors after classic bands... The Vanilla Fudge ... the Grand Funk Railroad Twist... Vanilla Cream... so many possibilities...

Previously on EV Grieve:
[UPDATED] Let's help Bleecker Bob's find space in the East Village

Bleecker Bob's is for rent

The never-opened Yogurt Crazy owes NYU back rent

Signs for the incoming Yogurt Crazy here on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 11th Street arrived last June.

And we haven't seen much, if any, activity in the space. Apparently the shop has been on the clock. A "rent demand" letter dated Feb. 2 is on the front door... Per the letter, signed by Peter Min, director of NYU's Lease and Acquisitions, Yogurt Crazy owes $37,134.87 "for rent and additional rent" through Feb. 28.

They'll have to sell Crazy amounts of FroYo to pay that.

East Village FroYo craze lives on, apparently

Over on Second Avenue near East Seventh... there's a new tenant for the former Spa Belles location ... A Twister self-serve frozen yogurt shop...

Here's the description of one from Long Island:

Twister Frozen Yogurt is a family-owned and -operated, self-serve frozen yogurt shop. It features an ever-rotating selection of 16 flavors, including low-fat and sugar-free options, as well as sorbets. The toppings bar stocks 40 toppings, including fresh fruit, nuts, hot fudge and more.

Meanwhile. The Yogurt Station remains closed on St. Mark's Place ... the NLYU Yogurt on First Avenue near East 10th Street closed after just a few months in business... And there's still no sign of the Yogurt Crazy shop on Third Avenue.

[UPDATED] Did the Yogurt Station close on St. Mark's Place?

That's what a reader asked. With the paper over the windows/doors and all. Perhaps just a remodeling.

Does anyone know?

Meanwhile, we went to Yelp to see if we could find any clues ... There's a reluctant 2-star review from last Saturday... The Yelper asked, "What HAPPENED!!!!"

Yeah, what happened?

There were only two flavors: red velvet and chocolate. I'd go for the red velvet. MELTED!!!!! So I went for chocolate (eh, nothing special). By the time I got to eat it, it was already melted.

There was a good amount of flavors, mind you. And they STAYED frozen to the last bite. Not tonight!

Not to mention, the girl behind the register had quite the grumpy face. Before then, there was a friendly girl that worked the register. This makes me sad. Maybe service went downhill because the employee(s) there don't care about maintaining the store.

Anyway, the last time that we saw paper over the windows at this address... from February 2009...



UPDATED:
Nope, still open! Just closed for remodeling or something.

Noted

16 Handles on Second Avenue now delivering FroYo. What about the people living east of Avenue B?

On second thought...

On Sept. 7, I ran an item on Cafe St. Mark's taking over the defunct Red Mango space on St. Mark's Place... Well, that didn't last long... there are now "for lease" signs on the space...



I don't know if they ever even made it open here...

St. Mark's Place to get sorely needed FroYo/tea shop

Eh, OK... The recently shuttered Red Mango space here on FroYo Way is now home to Cafe St. Mark's.... featuring FroYo and tea.

Another victim claimed in the relentless East Village FroYo wars

East Village Feed has the scoop, so to speak: Red Mango on St. Mark's Place has shuttered! And EVF got a response from the Red Mango corporate office on why:

Dear Loyal Red Mango Fan,

Thank you for your email. To help answer your question, we are focusing our efforts on locations that align with our strategic growth plan. The St. Mark’s location no longer meets our long-term goals, so we have made the decision to close the location. We are always looking to expand to new areas and encourage you to check our website for updates announcing new locations (www.redmangousa.com).

Anyway, maybe this is some kind of Hilly karma... Red Mango took over the site of the old CBGB shop. I even made a joke on March 29, 2008, that the old CBGB shop would probably become a FroYo place. And looked what happened!

Breaking! 16 Handles closed until 10 pm!

Uh-oh! Trouble in FroYoLand!

From a reader:

It is a sad scene right now outside 16 Handles, which posted this sign that it's closed til 10 pm. Sources outside the store say there is a fly infestation inside. Gross! We headed to copycat store Yogurt Station on St. Marks. It's packed here now.

Something Sweet for Third Avenue and NYU

The former Atlantic News on Third Avenue and NYU is becoming....



...something called Just Sweet Dessert House....



According to their Web site:

With an Asian-theme menu choice, our inspiration comes from a balanced fusion of contemporary and traditional culture. Our menu selections are inspired from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and Korea.

We strive to introduce unique selections of desserts into the local marketplace. Our featured desserts include Taiwanese Shaved Ice, Chinese Tong Sui, Crepes, frozen drinks, and seasonal specials.

Things that I was blissfully unaware of: 16 Handles delivers, though not beyond Avenue B

Quite a delivery zone too: 23rd Street to Spring? And you folks on Avenue C and Avenue D are apparently out of luck: No FroYo past Avenue B!

Posts that I didn't get around to posting in 2009: StillBerry (PinkLife?)

Previously.

Spot aiming for the middle school set on St. Mark's Place?

Spot, the new dessert bar in the former Iron Fairies space on St. Mark's Place, has unveiled this really subtle sign...

Posts that I never got around to posting: With 879 dessert choices in a three-block radius, something had to give...

On Second Avenue near Ninth Street. As Jeremiah pointed out in August, some homemade "for rent" signs went up, though the shop remained open...and more recently, Tasti packed up and left...Eater said the owner was facing a rent hike and had hoped to move elsewhere.

Related:
Tasti D-Lite (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Do you remember the times that we had.....(And has it really been one year already?)

Second Avenue near 10th Street.

Just about one year ago...



I wonder how many cups this place has gone through the last year.... and where are they all now? (Photo via Jeremiah)

From FroYo to dry cleaning

As Hunter-Gatherer noted this past January, öko frozen yogurt at 137 First Avenue near Ninth Street "closed for renovations" after just six months at the location...



"Closed for renovations" after six months, of course, is simply code for "we're out of business." Sure enough, the location never reopened.

Now, coming to this site: A dry cleaners.



By my count, this makes the fourth dry cleaners to open in the East Village this year.

P.S.
There are still two öko frozen yogurt shops in New York: Park Slope and Forest Hills.

[öko photo via Hunter-Gatherer]

Waiting for a sweet taste

On Friday, PinkBerry busted out new FroYo flavs. And you could get free samples at participating PinkBerrys (PinkBerries?) starting at 5 p.m. And, at one point, the line for a taste (of FroYo) stretched from the PinkBerry on St. Mark's Place halfway down the block and around the corner on Second Avenue.