Yogurt Park, Berkeley, California
It’s hard to imagine that Yogurt Park was once an unknown business in 1977, selling an unfamiliar product. Today, it’s a local institution and the oldest surviving froyo shop in Bay Area. If you attended UC Berkeley, you’ve had a froyo at Yogurt Park (aka YoPo). If you visited the Berkeley campus, someone probably took you there. Yogurt Park is known for their creamy froyo and generous portions of froyo and toppings. The toppings are jammed into the middle and spooned on top.
We recently spoke to Ryan Piscovich, who joined Yogurt Park in 2006 and manages daily operations. Ryan is founder Marty Piscovich’s son and business partner. While Ryan grew up with froyo in his life, he didn’t always plan to join the family business. After college, Ryan got a sales job in Silicon Valley. After 1.5 years, he decided the corporate cubicle wasn’t the life for him and he joined Yogurt Park. He started at the bottom and learned every aspect of the business. Today, Ryan oversees restocking, cleaning, deliveries, store and machine maintenance, posting flavors, etc. His dad does the books and his mom washes the employees’ aprons and counts the money.
Yogurt Park’s Origins
Marty Piscovich first tried frozen yogurt at a kiosk in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. It was marketed as a diet food, a lowfat alternative to ice cream. He didn’t like it but he saw that it was trendy. When he moved to the Bay Area, he decided to open a froyo shop. Yogurt Park opened its doors in 1977 near the UC Berkeley campus with two flavors, plain and chocolate, provided by a local dairy. Sales were slow for a few months. People weren’t familiar with frozen yogurt.
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day at Yogurt Park
Keys to Yogurt Park’s Success
Today, Yogurt Park sells about 1,000 cups of froyo a day. On a good night, they sell 120 – 150 cups of froyo an hour. The shop is small, so they can only offer six flavors at a time. Employees, typically UC Berkeley students, serve the froyo. They only sell froyo and toppings.
When asked what makes Yogurt Park so successful, Ryan attributes it to history, location, and the loyalty of generations of Yogurt Park fans. Many customers can remember coming to Yogurt Park with their parents or grandparents. UCB alumni have fond memories of late night froyo runs and they’ll come in for a froyo when they return to campus. They have customers who come every day.
Yogurt Park customers are passionate about the business. They’ll introduce it to others. Through strong word-of-mouth and years of serving the community, Yogurt Park has become a Berkeley institution. Their froyo is a “creature comfort” that provides a sense of “normalcy” during uncertain times.
While they’ve been approached about franchising many times, the Piscovich family decided to keep Yogurt Park simple and family-run. Their winning formula is offering a quality product at an affordable price. Ryan tries to keep the cost of a cup of froyo to under $5, “less than a cup of coffee.” A mini, their best seller, with toppings is $4.80. He believes the affordable price encourages people to come more often rather than seeing froyo as a special treat.
How Things Have Changed in the Past Few Years
During the froyo craze that started in the late 2000’s, about 20 shops and non-froyo businesses served froyo in Berkeley, including chains (e.g., Yogurtland, Tutti Frutti) and mom and pop froyo shops. Even Berkeley Bowl and Blondie’s Pizza served froyo. The competition put a dent in Yogurt Park’s sales but they still had a loyal customer base. By 2020, there were only two places still serving froyo in Berkeley, Yogurt Park and Menchie’s. Froyo sales at Yogurt Park are higher than ever now.
Yogurt Park closed the lobby during the pandemic and hasn’t reopened it. When the lobby was open, people would socialize and hang out more. Now that it’s closed, people usually know what they want by the time they get to the takeout window. There are no plans to reopen the lobby.
Ryan’s also noticed their day business is slowed down. They used to have a lunch rush with lines out the door. Now their busiest time is 8 PM – close.
Another change is the way people pay for froyo. For 36 years, Yogurt Park was a cash-only business. They offered a cash discount until 2021. Now when school is in session, 80% of payments are cashless. Cashless transactions are faster and help them sell more froyo per hour.
Behind the Scenes
When it comes to the froyo, they have about 60 flavors. Ryan decides on which flavors to carry. He always offers chocolate, vanilla, a sugar-free option, a fruit flavor (usually dairy-based), and then two other flavors that aren’t too similar. They’ve developed many of their own flavors, adding flavorings to the base yogurt mix. He says that they don’t make “super wild” flavors because they don’t sell. They sometimes offer a fruit sorbet but some customers have complained that they prefer dairy-based fruit flavors.
Their most popular flavors are cookies & cream, crème brulee, and raspberry chocolate truffle. Interestingly, he’s seen a drop off in demand for tart froyo flavors. During the summer, he says tart flavors sell better. Richer flavors do better in the winter. Flavors are usually available at the store for 3 – 4 days, except for chocolate and vanilla.
Yogurt Park is a loyal customer of Electro Freeze. They’ve been using Electro Freeze for as long as Ryan can remember. Ryan can even make minor repairs on his own.
Because word of mouth is so powerful and Yogurt Park is so beloved, they don’t advertise or do much with social media. Ryan will post the flavors on Instagram, IG @yogurt_park, but that’s about it.
Advice for New Froyo Shop Owners
Ryan thinks that if he were to open his own froyo shop today, he would choose the employee-served froyo format because it’s faster (more transactions per hour). His shop would also offer affordable pricing and a quality product. He also thinks social media is important to growing a new business. Location also matters. Thousands of people walk by Yogurt Park every day.
