National Frozen Yogurt Day: Best Froyo Spots and a Special Connection to the Bay Area

It’s National Frozen Yogurt Day!

It isn’t one of those holidays that is really celebrated, or even know to most people. However, CrawlSF is diving into all of the interesting and unusual holidays throughout the year, especially if there is a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

National Frozen Yogurt Day honors the creamy, tangy dessert that’s evolved from a niche “health food” to a global sensation. It is, technically, healthier than ice cream or even soft serve, but a big cup of frozen yogurt loaded with 12 toppings is definitely still a sugar-filled dessert. However, frozen yogurt is a delicious treat, so what better day to treat yourself to some froyo than on National Frozen Yogurt Day. For residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, the day holds extra significance. The Bay Area has played an important roll in the beginnings and the rise of the frozen yogurt trend thanks to Berkeley’s Yogurt Park, one of the nation’s first shops that helped put frozen yogurt on the map back in 1977.

What is Frozen Yogurt?

Frozen yogurt is basically a frozen dessert crafted primarily from yogurt, milk, and sweeteners. It shares a similar texture to soft serve ice cream, but typically contains less fat since soft serve is made with milk and cream. Froyo is also much lower in calories and may have live active cultures, giving it probiotic benefits. Flavors range from classic vanilla and chocolate to more adventurous options like tart berry or matcha green tea. The toppings at popular shops helped the trend spread. Most shops have a full buffet of toppings like gummi worms, cookie dough, M&Ms, fresh fruit and more.

Frozen Yogurt History

The origins of frozen yogurt trace back to the 1970s. It was a time when people were seeking lighter alternatives to traditional desserts. This coincided with a “gym boom” that started in the 1970s and exploded in the 80s with the popularity of Jane Fonda’s aerobics, Richard Simmons, Jazzercise and Buns of Steel. People began to focus on health and and healthy foods were the perfect partner to the new workout craze. It may seem kind of crazy, but even jogging was not really a thing until the mid-1960s. It took off as a way to excercise, fueled by a pamphlet about jogging distributed by Bill Bowerman, the Coach at University of Oregon. It’s hard to believe that a simple thing like taking a jog was not really a common thing until the 1970s. There was a funny take on this in the movie “Anchorman”, which took place in the 1970s. Ron Burgundy says “Oops. I almost forgot. I won’t be able to make it fellas. Veronica and I trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it’s jogging or yogging. it might be a soft j. I’m not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It’s supposed to be wild.”

So where did it all begin? H.P. Hood is credited with introducing the first commercial frozen yogurt in the early 1970s. He called it “frogurt” and described it as a soft-serve treat that mimicked ice cream’s creaminess but with a tangy twist. By the mid-1970s other people joined in and shops began popping up. Everything Yogurt opened its doors in New York City in 1976, becoming one of the first chains to focus exclusively on this new dessert and then expanding rapidly across the U.S. In 1977, I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt (ICBIY) launched in Dallas, Texas. They changed the market by pioneering fat-free and non-fat sugar-free varieties. Also in 1977, a small yogurt spot opened in Berkeley, Ca called Yogurt Park. The founder had tried the tasty treat at an airport and brough it to California.

The 1980s saw a huge yogurt boom. It was fueled by TCBY (originally “This Can’t Be Yogurt,” later rebranded to “The Country’s Best Yogurt” after a lawsuit from ICBIY). TCBY’s aggressive franchising helped the trend explode, turning frozen yogurt into a mainstream obsession with shops on nearly every corner.

In the 1990s there were yogurt shops everywhere. The oversaturation led to a “froyo war” that nearly ruined the whole industry. There was just too much yogurt and not enough customers to go around. This led to a lot of places closing down and an overall correction in the industry. However, people still very much enjoyed a cup of delicious frozen yogurt with toppings, so Shelly Hwang and Young Lee saw an opening in the market. In 2005, they opened Pinkberry in Los Angeles and began the new Frozen Yogurt revival. The yogurt was good and the branding was event better, but sometimes it just takes a single moment to hit the tipping point. Paris Hilton as well as Lindsay Lohan were photographed in the early days with Pinkberry and soon lots of other celebrities began coming to the place. It became a trendy spot to be and almost a status symbol for a moment. The quick rise of Pinkberry soon led to more trendy spots like Red Mango and Yogurtland.

The Bay Area Connection

Yogurt Park

No discussion of frozen yogurt’s history would be complete without spotlighting Yogurt Park, a Bay Area shop that’s been an innovator since it opened. Located near the UC Berkeley campus, Yogurt Park opened in 1977. It was founded by Marty Piscovich, who stumbled upon frozen yogurt at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and decided to bring it to California.

He started with simple plain and chocolate flavors sourced from a local dairy. The shop slowly gained traction through word-of-mouth and became a legend on the campus. Over nearly 50 years, Yogurt Park has served millions of customers and employed more than 1,300 UC Berkeley students, making it a rite of passage for generations of Golden Bears.

It is one of the oldest continuously operating frozen yogurt shops in the United States as well and the longest-running in the Bay Area. It made it through the 1980s boom, the 1990s decline and the 2000s revival, all while staying family-owned.

Interesting Facts About Yogurt Park

• Opened in 1977 by Marty Piscovich after he encountered frozen yogurt at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. He initially wasn’t actually that impressed but saw potential and started with simple plain and chocolate flavors from a local dairy.
• It’s one of the oldest continuously operating frozen yogurt shops in the United States
• The shop has served millions of customers over nearly 50 years and employed more than 1,300 UC Berkeley students
• Portion sizes are genrous. A “mini” is equivalent to a medium elsewhere, a medium is large, and a large is gigantic, with toppings always available.
• Yogurt Park is considered a Berkeley icon and a “must-visit” for foodies in the Bay Area, often highlighted in food tours.
• While Yogurt Park hasn’t had anywhere near the celebrity sightings that Pinkberry can claim, they have had a good amount of actors and athletes come through their doors. The most recent sighting that caused a stir on campus was when Zendaya, originally from Oakland, stopped by for a cup.

Where to get Frozen Yogurt in the San Francisco Bay Area

There are a lot of places to get frozen yogurt in the Bay Area and to be honest, most of them are pretty good. Here are a few options that we like:

Yogurt Park
2433 Durant Ave A
Berkeley, CA 94704

Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt
4028 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94114

Loving Cup
608 Divisadero St
San Francisco, CA 94117

Banan (plant based & Dairy Free)
3862 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94114

Souvla
2272 Chestnut St
San Francisco, CA 94123

Pinkberry
680 Stanford Shopping Center Ste 14
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Happy Yogurt
503 33rd Ave
San Francisco, CA 94121

Interesting Facts About Frozen Yogurt

• Frozen yogurt isn’t just made from cow’s milk. Varieties use sheep, goat, camel, or even yak milk in some countries.
• It often contains live probiotics, which can boost the immune system, lower cholesterol, prevent yeast infections and even reduce bad breath by decreasing sulfur-producing bacteria in the mouth.
• The first frozen yogurt on a stick was Dannon’s “Danny” in 1979, a fruit-flavored pop coated in chocolate
• Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is nicknamed the “Frozen Yogurt Justice” for her love of froyo. This led to the installation of the first frozen yogurt station in the Supreme Court cafeteria.
• Google honored frozen yogurt with the codename “Froyo” for Android version 2.2 in 2010, part of their tradition of naming releases after desserts like pie and Oreo.
• There’s an International Frozen Yogurt Association (IFYA), founded in 2013, dedicated to promoting the dessert.
• High protein content in froyo can help you feel full longer than many other sweets