frozen yogurt

Reminder: Free Froyo at Pinkberry Tonight

By ARLnow.com

With a brand new sign outside the store, and a freshly-constructed interior, California-based frozen yogurt seller Pinkberry (1220 N. Fillmore St.) is ready to start serving customers in Clarendon.

Pinkberry will open its doors from 6:00 to 8:00 tonight to offer free frozen yogurt samples. Among the expected flavors are sweet and tangy Original, Chocolate, Mango, Pomegranate, Watermelon, and Salted Caramel.

The store will have its first full day tomorrow, with doors expected to open at 11:00 a.m. and close at 1:00 a.m.

Pinkberry Plans Froyo Giveaway in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

The new Pinkberry frozen yogurt store in Clarendon (pictured) is planning a post-work froyo giveaway on Thursday, one day before its planned opening.

Pinkberry will give out free samples from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. The store then plans to open to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Offerings include 6 different flavors of frozen yogurt and numerous toppings.

The Clarendon Pinkberry will be the California-based chain’s third D.C.-area location.

Pinkberry Sets Opening Date for Clarendon Location

By ARLnow.com

Clarendon’s new Pinkberry frozen yogurt store will be opening on August 5, the company announced last night.

The store will have the address of 1220 N. Filmore Street, but will face Clarendon Boulevard, next to the new Cava restaurant. This will be the third D.C. area location for the California-based company, which claims to have started the national frozen yogurt craze.

In a press release, the company said the Clarendon store will offer “only the highest quality ingredients.”

The Clarendon location will be serving six distinctive Pinkberry flavors: the signature Original flavor, a sweet and tangy yogurt with a refreshing finish; a rich, indulgent Chocolate; Mango, a fruity and light flavor made with authentic Alphonso mango puree; Pomegranate, a bold and tangy flavor made with 100 percent California-grown pure pomegranate juice; Watermelon, a crisp and refreshing summertime favorite and Salted Caramel, a featured flavor that is the perfect blend of salty and sweet.

Pinkberry customers can personalize every yogurt experience with dozens of combination of toppings like Grade-A fresh fruit that is hand-cut daily in-store, organic gummy bears with no high fructose corn syrup, all natural honey almond granola, 100% pure Pomegranate juice, or rich, premium Belgian chocolate shavings.

In addition to frozen yogurt and toppings for immediate consumption, Pinkberry also offers Pinkberry Take Home, 25 ounces of Pinkberry, swirled-to-order and packed on ice to ensure your Swirly Goodness will get home safely to your freezer. Pinkberry also offers Fruit Parfaits, Smoothies, and Fresh Fruit Bowls as fresh, satisfying choices for any time of day.

Pinkberry will compete with an existing Red Mango frozen yogurt store down the street. Pinkberry will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. until midnight. It will stay open until 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Permits Up for Pinkberry in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Two months after we first told you that a Pinkberry frozen yogurt store was coming to Clarendon, construction permits are posted on the Clarendon Boulevard storefront.

So far Pinkberry reps are mum about when the company hopes to open the small store. It appears that interior construction is only just getting underway, however, signaling that an opening by the end of the summer is unlikely.

Pinkberry has a “cult-like” following in other parts of the country, but it will face tough competition in Clarendon. An existing Red Mango froyo store is only one block away and the new Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream store two blocks away expects to sell non-fat frozen yogurt.

FroZenYo Coming Soon to Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

A FroZenYo self-serve frozen yogurt shop is under construction in Crystal City.

The store will be replacing a closed Quizno’s Restaurant, next to the Chipotle at 2231 Crystal Drive. No word on when it will be opening, but building permits are now posted in the windows.

New FroZenYo locations are also planned for Rosslyn and Ballston. Late last year the company told TBD.com that all three Arlington locations would be opening in 2011.

Hat tip to “Atleeelmont”

Pinkberry is Coming to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s frozen yogurt wars are heating up.

Pinkberry, arguably the originator of the upscale froyo craze in the United States, is planning on opening a location in Clarendon. According to the company’s web site, the store will be located at 1220 N. Fillmore Street.

The only open storefront in the 1220 N. Fillmore Street building is the one facing Clarendon Boulevard with the “for lease” tacked on large sheets of plywood. The storefront (pictured) is between Restaurant 3 and the future Cava Restaurant to the right, and the entrance to an apartment building, Urban Halo salon and Gold’s Gym to the left.

Pinkberry has a “cult-like” following in other parts of the country, but it will face tough competition in Clarendon. A Red Mango froyo store is only one block away and has enjoyed considerable success since it opened nearly one year ago. Rabbit, a hybrid salad/frozen yogurt/cupcake concept, is slated to open one block up Clarendon Boulevard, in the Clarendon Center development. Meanwhile, Sweetgreen — another froyo/salad restaurant — recently opened in Ballston.

We’re awaiting word from Los Angeles-based Pinkberry as to when they hope to open. Although a construction crew was busy working on the interior of Cava next door, the sound of nails being hammered into wood could seemingly be heard in the potential Pinkberry storefront earlier this afternoon.

Pinkberry is planning to open a location in Dupont Circle in the District within the next three weeks.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Black Friday Is a Bust at Ballston Common Mall — While other suburban shopping malls were inundated with shoppers on Friday, traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for retailers in terms of foot traffic, Ballston Common Mall was about as crowded as it normally is on a Friday afternoon (not very). “The best thing here is Rock Bottom,” one shopper explained to Ballston Patch.

Farmers Market For Westover? — A community meeting will be held at the Westover library next month to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market this spring. More from the Sun Gazette.

Arlington Has Region’s Lowest Unemployment — Once again Arlington is leading the D.C. area jobs-wise. Arlington’s unemployment rate currently stands at a remarkably low 3.9 percent. Alexandria and Loudoun County share the title for second-lowest unemployment in the region, with 4.5 percent. More from WTOP.

Another Froyo Place Coming to Arlington — The R-B corridor will have an abundance of frozen yogurt options next year. A D.C.-based, self-serve yogurt shop called FroZenYo is planning to open stores in Rosslyn and Ballston in 2011. It’s also planning on opening a store in Crystal City. More from TBD.

Flickr pool photo by Team Rank

Sweetgreen Delays Opening, Offers Free Yoga

By ARLnow.com

Froyo and salad shop Sweetgreen has pushed the opening of its Ballston store back to Monday, Nov. 29, at the earliest. That date is tentative, a company rep tells us.

Despite the delay, the store is moving forward with a plan to celebrate the forthcoming opening by paying for a free yoga weekend at a neighborhood yoga studio.

This weekend, anyone who registers in advance can take free yoga classes at the Tranquil Space yoga studio (3528 Wilson Blvd). Participants will also get a free gift from Sweetgreen.

Sweetgreen Ballston Opening Nears

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s first Sweetgreen store is less than three weeks away from opening in Ballston.

The environmentally-friendly salad and frozen yogurt store is expected to open in the second week of November, the company said today. An exact opening date has not been chosen.

The store will be located at 4075 Wilson Boulevard, next to Rustico, which is expected to open for business tomorrow. The store will be Sweetgreen’s second in Virginia, following the opening of a location in Reston Town Center last month.

From a company press release:

As a standard in all Sweetgreen stores, the Ballston location will be outfitted with reclaimed hickory from an old Virginia barn, recycled bowling alley wood tables and chairs, energy efficient lighting, and providing plant-based compostable packaging.  “It’s been a long time coming,” said co-founder, Nathaniel Ru, “the values that we have are very parallel to the vibrant, progressive culture of Arlington, and we’re excited to be a part of that.”

Sweetgreen’s food truck, Sweetflow Mobile, will be making the rounds around the R-B corridor until 2:30 this afternoon “as a teaser” for the Ballston opening.

The truck will also make a regularly-scheduled appearance at the last Crystal City Freshfarm Market of the season tomorrow, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Building Permit Up at the New Ballston Sweetgreen

By ARLnow.com

Salad-and-froyo joint Sweetgreen is coming to Ballston as soon as next month. And one of our spies has spotted the future restaurant’s building permit.

According to the permit, the new Sweetgreen will be located in 4075 Wilson Boulevard, a stone’s throw away from Ballston Common Mall and the same building in which Rustico will be opening soon.

We also learn from the permit that Sweetgreen has so far paid the county $10,187.84 in fees. Ouch — that’s a lot of $4 frozen yogurts.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see if north Arlington has enough of a froyo appetite to support Red Mango, TangySweet and Sweetgreen.

Update at 11:40 a.m. — Sweetgreen’s Phil Moldavski tells us that the store will open at some point this fall, after the company’s Reston store opens.

Why Ballston, we asked?

“We really love the Ballston neighborhood,” Moldavski wrote. “It has [lots] of young professionals and other like-minded people who are likely to appreciate what Sweetgreen is all about… we are excited to be coming there.”

Moldavski says the Ballston Sweetgreen will be similar in design to their current stores.

Thanks to “A Sweetgreen Cobb Salad Addict” for the tip.

Red Mango Opens in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

At long last, Red Mango opened its doors for business today. Located just up the road from Whole Foods on Clarendon Boulevard, it’s the first Red Mango franchise in the DC area (a Tysons Corner location is also planned) and the only Korean-style frozen yogurt store in the Courthouse-Clarendon area.

Employees were handing out free samples outside the store this afternoon as a steady stream of new customers trickled inside. First-time franchise owners Monte and Betsy Winterhalter, who moved here from Connecticut in order to run the store, mingled with customers and provided guidance to their new hires.

Red Mango is only accepting cash for now, as management works to get the credit card machines working.

The store will hold a grand opening celebration on Saturday, June 5, with free t-shirts to the first 100 customers and free yogurt from 11:00 to 6:00 p.m.

In addition to four different yogurt flavors and more than 20 toppings, Red Mango also offers free WiFi.

More photos after the jump.

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